Night fury
by WanderingSoul96
Summary: When a new monster huntress is found wounded by a more experienced hunter, both start a journey to find the monster responsible for this.But an ancient creature awaits them. They will find many hardships as they are tested to face their greatest fear: the Unknown. First fanfiction on the site and english isn t my first language. Reviews are appreciated. Alternate universe
1. Mystery

`` Get out of the way! We need to bring her to a medic now!´´ a man shouted as he crossed the crowd. He adorned a red armor that resembled scales of some kind of dragon, a helm which a visor that was raised so he could see better and a giant greatsword that seemed to be made of the same material as the armor. A Rathalos´ equipment, made of the said wyvern and symbol of skill and pride for the ones who killed the beast. Behind this hunter four walking cats were pushing a wooden cart with a woman on it. She wore a simple armor made iron and connected iron rings without the helm, her short red read was stained with dirty and she looked unconscious. A very deep wound could be seen on the left side of the armor plate, as if a knife or something sharp had penetrated the armor. _``Dam it! How did this happen?!´´_ the hunter thought as he rushed towards the healer of his village.

**(Flashback)**

``Hey Derek! What job you took?´´ a man wearing a purple rubber armor asked coming towards his friend. They were on the tavern of the village, a place where the monster hunters of the village of Kokoto would gather to get new jobs. The village was placed on a group of hills that connected many hunting areas and was a beacon for hunters and people. For the commoners and the villagers, monsters were a menace and wished that they never existed, but for others it was always a challenge, adventure and a form to gain money. Derek was one these hunters, his skills for fighting the Rathalos species earned him the title of "Blazing Fire" as his favorite sword was the flame great sword. However, even his hunting abilities weren´t perfect. Derek had hard time fighting water and dragon monsters since his equipment was unsuitable against these creatures, because of this, he never went past four stars on the hunting rank.

The hunting rank is a system designed to measure the skills of the hunter so the guild masters can give the appropriate jobs. A hunter always started on the first rank, the one star. With this rank, you can do missions involving gathering of materials for the everyday life or hunt minor monsters like the velociprey and bulfango. With two stars, more dangerous monster are available, including the leader of the "prey" species, gathering of ore in dangerous areas like the desert or a fight against your first wyvern, generally the fire spilling Yian kut ku. With four stars, Derek can hunt practically all the wyvern species, be it fire, water, electricity,brute and others and also egg deliveries(which he hated to do).His dream was to one day challenge the legendary Crimson Fatalis, one of the elder dragons. The rank went up to six stars, where you are allowed to hunt the fearsome elder dragons or any creature with a power to challenge these creatures. Of course, each kind of job had a proper reward in the form of money or prize. But for the monster hunters, the items obtained from the creatures were more important than money.

Rick, the rubber armored friend of Derek, had three stars and could only hunt lesser wyverns such as the Gypceros, a purple bird wyvern which the skin was resistant against thunder attacks. Rick and Derek were friendly rivals when both had three stars, challenging each other but also respecting each other victories. When Derek killed his first Rathalos and gained one more star, Rick vowed to reach the same rank. But his abilities weren´t enough against the more dangerous monsters nor his lance and shield could save him when a fast moving monster was around. The only monster he didn´t fightt was the weird wyvern Khezu, a placid monster which could create electricity. It was the perfect job for him, his armor was great against the electric attacks and the slow moving monster was an easy target against his lance. Sadly, Rick never found such monster on the missions, it didn´t matter how many months he waited, it was like no one was having trouble with the monster. ``They live on cold caverns, so it is very unlikely that they will cause some trouble since they eat kelbi and little more. I only fought one in all my life´´ Derek told his friend when the rubber hunter asked for his friend.

Back on the tavern, Derek smiled at his friend. ``It is an azure rathalos hunt on the North Jungle. Now it is my chance to upgrade my armor´´ the red hunter said excited while rubbing his hands. An Azure Rathalos was a rathalos that reached middle adulthood, for unexplained reasons his scales turn to an azure color and it is more ferocious than his younger siblings. ``Any Khezu job?´´ Rick asked. ``No, but there is a Purple Gypceros that is stealing food in the Swamp´´ Derek answered but when he saw the sad expression on his friend´s face he put an arm on the rubber knight´s shoulder, ``Look, I know you wish to win that rank, like I want to reach six stars to hunt that Crimson Fatalis. But until then, let´s hunt the most dangerous monsters we are allowed!´´ the red warrior exclaimed and so Rick raised his head and grinned. ``Yeah, you´re right! It is time to see if I can still hunt these coward birds´´ the rubber knight said doing a handshake with his friend.

**(North Jungle)**

Derek swung his sword vertically as the wyvern dived into his direction, the blade connected with the monster´s belly and forced the beast back into the ground. They were in a clearing in the middle of the jungle, with many trunks on the ground and some trees burning because of the battle between hunter and hunted. Derek panted heavily, the azure creature was harder than he thought, smarter and faster. When he rolled to dodge a fireball his opponent would soon follow up with a charge and he noticed that the creatures´s wings and hide were way harder than his younger relative. But the battle was finally over and the hunter could finally collect his prize.

``That was…hard´´ Derek said to himself as he put his greatsword on his back and turned to the immobile body on the ground. ``And to think there is still the Silver Rathalos…I can´t even imagine it´s power´´ he said grabbing a yellow flute from a pouch he always carried. The flute worked as an alarm to call an Aptonoth, an herbivore monster which was often used by hunters and villagers to carry the materials and equipment. These animals, while docile, were strong in their own way but were on the base of the hunting hierarchy. After some minutes said creature came from the trees with many bags hanging from the sides. Derek smiled to see his aptonoth safe, they were easy prey for the other monster when alone. After some carving(which the hunter took special care to not damage the materials) both hunter and creature went the way back to the camp.

After some minutes of walking a female scream echoed through the trees, ``_Someone needs help!´´ _the hunter thought, ``Stay here!´´ he commanded the aptonoth and rushed to the direction of the sound. ``_Maybe it is a hunter, or even worse! A villager!´´ _he thought sweating, he stopped to catch some breath since he was exhausted after a fight with the Rathalos. ``Dam it! Where is she?!´´ he shouted between gasps. Someone moaned in pain, making the hunter look at the sides with despair. He saw a woman leaning on a tree, her hunting knife and shield on the ground and with her head lowered. ``Hey! Are you okay?!´´ Derek crouched and shook the woman, his eyes widened when he saw a gaping hole on her chest with blood coming from it. Judging by her iron armor and sword she was a one star hunter, probably a newbie. Derek looked at the sides searching for the responsible creature but found no traces of any monster, he turned his attention back to the red haired woman. ``Where are the cats? They should be here by now!´´ the man thought, little did he know that the feline rescue team was knocked out not too far away from their position.

Having no choice, Derek grabbed the huntress´s body in his arms with some difficult and raised from the ground. ``You are heavy!´´ he complained as he run the fastest he could.

**(End of the flashback)**

**(Kokoto Village)**

Shen, the master of the village, watched horrified as the red hunter and the cart approached. ``What happened?!´´ he asked, ``I was doing a job and found her, she needs medical treatment now!´´ Derek said. ``Bring her inside!´´ Shen commanded, the hunter grabbed the woman´s body and went inside the man´s hut. ``Leave her here´´ the old man said pointing to a bed at the side of the hut and the hunter complied. ``Hum…that is a nasty wound. Can you tell me how you found she?´´ Shen asked grabbing some herbs that were stored on a cabin. ``Inside the jungle, unconscious by a tree. I believe a horn or fang of some kind is the source of the wound´´ Derek answered looking at the woman, she was pale as the moon and her torso was moving very slow.

``It isn´t a fang, the hole is straight, a fang would cause a slash form´´ the elder said smashing the herbs on a pot and adding water, honey and a blue mushroom. Shen was, at one point of his life, a reputed hunter but when his wife was killed by a monster he fell on depression and quit being a hunter. Because of this, he vowed to save the lives of every hunter he could, he respected them as the defenders of the people and for this he studied medicinal herbs for many years to improve his healing skills.

``Can I do something?´´ Derek asked, ``Grab some fabric and clean water, there are some on that bookcase. You know what to do´´ the elder answered walking towards the bed with a flask filled with a green liquid. He opened the huntress´ mouth with a finger and put the recipient on her lips so the green fluid could flow into her mouth. Meanwhile, Derek cleaned the wound with water and took the opportunity to check it. ``So?´´ the elder asked, ``Two ribs were broken and she lost much blood, but fortunately the heart wasn´t stabbed and the lung seems to be fine´´ Derek sighed with relief after patching the wound.

``That is good to hear. The potion I gave her should be taking effect right now, but she needs to rest for a while. I will take care of her wounds from now on. Now comes the question…´´ Shen said, ``I didn´t see any monster nor any footprint or signal. It seems that the rescue team was killed or didn´t find her. They usually are very wary of the situation´´ the hunter answered the unspoken question. ``But what kind of monster can do this?´´ the elder rubbed his long bear thinking about the situation. ``Something with horns, I guess. I will search on my archives for something like that´´ Derek said. Every hunter knew the importance of knowing the monster´s behavior, habitat and characteristics and so everyone had a book with this kind of information. Some gathered the information themselves while others resorted to general books given by guilds and elders.

``By the way, who is she?´´ the red hunter asked taking off his helmet. ``I believe her name is Yoru, she came to Kokoto three days ago and wanted to be a monster hunter. Today was supposed to be her first mission, mushroom gathering I guess´´ the elder told. ``That explains why I never saw her. Anyway, I should be going´´ Derek said going towards the door but stopped to look back. ``She is very unlucky, isn´t she?´´ he asked, ``She is lucky to have you around to save her. A knight in shining armor I suppose´´ Shen joked, ``Very funny´´ he whispered looking towards the woman, he felt happy that he could save her.


	2. First Hunt

``Hey, what happened back there´´ Rick asked Derek as they walked towards the red hunter´s home. ``I found her after my fight with the Azure Rathalos, Shen says she will be fine. But what bugs me is her wound, it looks like a horn of something stabbed her´´ Derek answered. ``A horn you say? The only creatures that hve horns on that jungle are the kelb and bulfango´´ Rick told. ``It is not a bulfango, the wound is straight´´ the red hunter answered frowning, ``So you are telling me that a kelbi almost killed her?´´ Rick retorted, ``Not even the worst of the hunters could _die_ by the kelbi! I can kill them with my bare hands´´ Derek shouted at his rival. The kelbi were docile creatures with deer like appearance, despite these weak characteristics they were largely hunted by their meat but principally by their horns which were used on powerful potions. Not too far away on an alley, a man wearing a bronze armor grinned before he disappeared on the shadows. ``Calm down!this is the only explanation we have right now´´ the rubber knight waved his hands and Derek sighed.

``Can you do a favor for me?´´ the red hunter asked stopping in front of his wooden home. ``It is about her, isn´t it?´´ the man asked, ``I want you to travel to the jungle and see if there are any clues of what attacked her, I will mark the spot on your map´´ Derek said looking into Rick´s eyes, ``I can do that, but I will need a job to go to that area. I will try to find an easy one´´ Rick answered turning to run towards the tavern but stopped when he heard his friend. ``By the way! How was your fight with your elder rubber brother?´´ the red hunter joked referring to the Purple Gypceros. ``It was more like a blind tag game…that chicken wyvern killed half of the plants of the swamp. But in the end I won!´´ Rick grinned, ``If there is a clumsier monster out there, I will make sure you are the first to fight it´´ Derek smiled as he watched his friend run through the village. ``Now it is time for some research´´ the red hunter entered his house with a sigh, it was going to be a long day.

It was afternoon when Derek finally checked all the notes he had and also the village´s archives. He was walking through the village pondering his findings, ``_There are a couple of monsters with horns, but their habitats are generally the desert or far away from that area…_´´ he though, ``Am I forgetting something?´´ he asked no one in special as he stared at the sunset. ``Derek!´´ a man called the hunter´s attention, he was a villager wearing brown clothes and a gown. ``Shen wants you at his house, he says it concerns you´´ the man explained, ``Fine, thank you´´ the hunter said going towards the village´s master.

When he reached the door he gulped waiting to be good news and then opened it. Inside the old man was at the side of the bed, the huntress was awake and looking at the window, her helm was on a table. ``Hum…? ´´ Shen murmured turning to look at the door, ``I see you are here, I am glad to say she is just fine´´ thee elder smiled. ``Who are you?´´ Yoru, the huntress, asked finally noticing the red hunter. ``My name is Derek, I am the one who brought you here´´ the Rathalos hunter answered taking off his helm to reveal a young face, black hair and a scar covering his right cheek. ``Thank you…´´ she whispered feeling a bit embarrassed. ``It was nothing, you turned my day more interesting´´ he smiled rubbing his head. ``Now, can you tell us what happened?´´ Shen asked, ``Hum…´´ Yoru mumbled looking at the blanket. ``I was gathering mushrooms when…a red eye appeared on the bushes and then…´´ she paused several times trying to remember. Watching the confusion on the huntress´ face an idea came into Derek´s mind. ``You forgot?´´ he asked and she nodded without looking at him. ``Don´t worry, I sent a friend to investigate, he should return in a day or two´´ the red hunter assured. ``Can I go now? I must get the mushrooms…´´ she asked trying to get up but the elder´s hand stopped her. ``You are injured, there is no need to go back´´ Shen said, ``But someone need them!´´ she protested but grabbed her stomach in pain. ``Someone else can do the job´´ Derek told placing a hand on her shoulder and gently pushing her back into the bed. Yoru looked at his eyes with a glare and then turned to face the window with arms crossed, ``Fine´´ she said irritated. ``If any of you need me, I will be on the blacksmith or resting at my home´´ Derek told sighed and went for the exit.

**(In the next day)**

Yoru was healed enough to leave Shen´s care, but the elder prohibited her from doing any jobs for the next two days. The huntress protested at first but agreed after feeling pain again. She wore her armor, the white bandages visible from the hole in her chest, and went to the tavern to eat breakfast. When she opened the door, everyone stopped talking and looked at her, some whispered while others simply stared. ``Here!´´ a familiar voice spoke as a hand waved somewhere in the crowd. Derek was on an empty table with his breakfast, when he saw Yoru he quickly called the huntress.

The newbie sat across the table and put her helm down, ``Feeling better?´´ the red hunter offered a mug of milk and she accepted it. ``I guess so…why is everyone watching us?´´ she whispered furrowing her brow. ``I don´t know, yesterday I have gone to the blacksmith and then straight to my home´´ he took a bite of cheese. However, someone walked straight towards the duo. It was a man wearing a bronze armor without the helm, an iron katana was strapped on his back, the face was plastered with a grin and his grey short hair was spiked. ``So you´re the noob uh?´´ he put a foot on the table and leaned forward, ``What do you want Ignavus?´´ the red hunter asked annoyed, ``You don´t know?! I talking about this woman!´´ the bronze hunter snickered as everyone watched the conversation. ``Who are you calling noob?´´ Yoru stared at the man, ``Forget it´´ Derek put a hand on her shoulder but he didn´t expect what would happen next.

``I heard a kelbi beat you, maybe it was a challenge too big for you!´´ Ignavus laughed and soon the others laughed too. The huntress´ shoulders fell from the embarrassment, they didn´t know what she passed through. Meanwhile, Derek felt like a dagger stabbed his heart, he knew somehow the bronze hunter heard his conversation with Rick earlier and made gossip of it. Ignavus was a six stars hunter, he wore the bronze armor of the elder dragon Kushala Daora, the lord of the storm as a trophy and often bragged about it. Derek doubted he even killed the dragon, since he never wore the helm and the armor had a rusted appearance, but he couldn´t prove it and so had to endure the hunter´s pride.

Yoru raised from the bench, her face covered by the shadow of the helm, and walked towards the exit as the others laughed. ``Oh…don´t you want to know where I heard that?´´ Ignavus teased and the huntress stopped by the door, ``It was your boyfriend who said!´´ he told laughing. Yoru looked back, her eyes beaming into Derek´s soul like a spear. ``How could you…?´´ she said surprised, ``How could you?!´´ she shouted running away. ``Wait!´´ Derek raised from the chair but a comment changed his focus, ``And never come back! We don´t need weak hunters like you!´´ Ignavus mocked but he was the only one to laugh this time. Everyone watched as the red hunter trembled with anger and a few seconds later a fist connected with a jaw. The bronze hunter fell on the ground rubbing his chin as the other man stood with bared teeth, ``You idiot!´´ Derek said running towards the door.

Yoru ran through village leaving a trail of tears behind. She passed through the village´s entrance where two guards stood and went straight to the forest with only her armor, metal shield and hunter´s knife. A few minutes later Derek arrived at the entrance, breathing really hard, ``Did you see a red haired woman?´´ he asked panting, ``She went towards the forest a five minutes earlier´´ one guard told, ``Thank you´´ he rushed hoping the best.

**(Three days later)**

Derek sat on a chair inside his house and threw his helmet at the ground feeling frustrated. ``_Three days of searching and nothing! Where the hell did she go? That forest is dangerous, specially with an unknown creature luring in the shadows!´´ _he thought . Ever since Yoru´s escape from the village the red hunter became more reserved and so no one dared to provoke his ire. Everyone except one, the next day following the huntress´ disappearance Ignavus came and provoked the red hunter, the result was a brawl where Derek emerged victorious. Ever since, the bronze hunter kept distance from the Rathalos hunter and learnt to not talk about the "noob".

``_And where is Rick?! He should be here already´´ _Derek thought starting to worry about his friend when many knocks came from the door. ``It is me!´´ a muffled voice exclaimed from the other side, the red hunter walked towards the door feeling anxious. When he opened the door he found the rubber knight breathing heavily. ``Are you okay? What happened?!´´ Derek asked concerned that something attacked his friend. ``That forest is definitively becoming dangerous*gasp*. I managed to get a mushroom delivery, but a*gasp* Yian Garuga appeared out of nowhere´´ Rick managed to raise his head after some breaths. The Yian Garuga is a distant relative of the weak Yian Kut Ku, however, it was classified as four star monster because of it´s aggressive nature. It was stated that

should a hunter find a monster higher than his/her rank, the hunter must avoid battle at all cost. This was made to ensure the security of less experience hunters and avoid unauthorized attempts to reach a higher rank.

``I managed to escape and continue my search when I found a couple of these´´ Rick opened his hand to reveal a dark spike with dry blood covering good part of it ``I found it some meters away from where you found her. I searched the nearby area and found a couple more on the ground in a straight line´´ the hunter explained while his friend checked the object. ``I never saw a spike like this´´ Derek gasped when he accidentally cut his finger with the sharp part of the weapon. ``It cut through my armor and my finger!´´ the red hunter said amazed and horrified as he watched the blood drip into the ground. ``How did she survive this?!´´ Rick asked but didn´t notice his friend´s dark expression. ``By the way, where is she? She should be fine by now´´ the rubber knight leaned expecting to see the red haired woman inside the room.

``She is gone…´´ the red hunter said, ``Gone? She succumbed to the injury?´´ Rick asked finally noticing his friend dark mood. ``No, it is all my fault´´ Derek bit his lip in anguish, ``Remember our talk some days ago? You joked about the kelbi´´ the red hunter told, ``And?´´ the rubber knight asked. ``Ignavis heard it´´ Derek finished and immediately Rick felt guilty. ``He spread the rumor didn´t he?´´ Rick asked, ``And told I was the one to say it. She fled the village with only her equipment´´ Derek nodded. ``Then we need to search!´´ the rubber knight turned but Derek placed his hand on his friend´s shoulder. ``That was three days ago. I searched the entire jungle, a bit of the desert and even the forest and hill´s area but no signal. I already searched today with no results´´ Derek fell on his chair with a sigh.

**(Forest and Hills)**

Yoru sat on the base of a tree, a small bonfire burned in front of her, a piece of meat was hanging from a stick as it burned. The huntress´ expression was covered by the untamed red hair as she waited the meat. ``_It has been three days…´´ _she looked at the fire with half closed eyes, ``_I still don´t understand. How could he? He saved my life but made gossip of me…That liar! He tricked me! But why?!´´_ she thought. Yoru heard a buzzing sound far away increasing with every second. She raised from the ground grabbing her sword and shield and used the tree as protection against rear attacks. A group of giant wasp like creatures emerged from the bushes from the right, she faced them with her shield up, but then another buzzing came from behind.``Surrounded?´´ she said to herself looking back to find another group of monsters. She counted twenty of them and more could appear at any second.

Vespoids were insect-like creatures that lived in group with a queen, with behavior not too different from the common bees. Hunters detested these monsters, even when alone, because their stings were filled with a paralyzing toxin, causing the hunters to overthrown monster´s eggs during deliveries. Of course, since Yoru isn´t a proper hunter yet, she doesn´t know this.

The right group of vespoids dived at the huntress, she cut the first one easily and used the shield to bash another one on the left but a third one managed to hit her on the right arm. The rest continued forward and gathered with the other group. ``My arm!´´ Yoru felt the toxin spread and turn her arm numb, it took all of her strength and will power to just hold the blade. 18 vespoids dived again, their stings aimed at the huntress like needles ready to subdue an elder dragon. She rolled to the side and cut three bugs as the passed to the other side but then the pain came, it was getting harder to keep holding her sword. ``Darn you! Just because you have numbers and poison!´´ she gritted her teeth as the monster turned to rush again. ``I will kill all of you!´´ she shouted running towards the vespoids.

Yoru managed to slice one more before they separated and started to fly in circles around her. The huntress felt her sword getting heavier, she shook her head trying to keep focus. ``_I hate this, but I have no other choice´´_ Yoru let her shield fall on the ground and grabbed her sword with both hands. A vespoid came and she spun and waved her sword vertically, cutting the bug. Another two came and were killed but then she felt a sting on her leg and with a scream another one was dead. With an arm and a leg numb Yoru was sweating and breathing heavily. ``Ten more…ten more left´´ she whispered to herself as the insects flew around her. She fell on her knees gasping for air, ``No! I must get up!´´ Yoru said determined as she looked up, three more came and she sliced them. She tripped and fell on the ground as one vespoid passed over her head. The huntress spun her body so she could see the monsters and kept her sword close to her belly. Using her body weight Yoru rolled to the side as two vespoids stabbed the ground where she previously was. The huntress took this opportunity to jump and kill them, a third one dived but she crouched and simply raised her sword over her head, the monster killed itself and it´s body parts fell on the ground with a "crack" sound.

Yoru´s poisoned arm fell limp and now she was using only her left hand to hold the sword. ``Four more…´´ she said with an eye closed, her heart was pumping so hard that she doubted if it was going to break her chest. The huntress stabbed through two vespoids, threw herself at another slicing it in the process and fell on the ground. ``Agh!´´ she screamed as pain rushed through her back as the last vespoid hit her. She forced her body to spin so she could see the annoying bug flying closer and closer to her ,it almost looked like the monster was mocking her. ``_I´m not going to die here! Not to this useless bug´´ _she thought gritting her teeth. Yoru closed her eyes gathering all the remaining strength she had in a last effort to grab her sword, the vespoid was getting closer and closer. When she finally felt her fingers around the weapon she opened her eyes and with a war cry slashed the bug.

Yoru felt her consciousness slipping, a strong urge to close her eyes and the world going blurry. ``My first monster hunt… and my last´´ she thought smiling as darkness washed over her mind.


	3. New friend

An owl hooted in the night, a full moon was shinning in the black sky together with dozens of stars and bugs screeched throughout the forest. The body of a red haired huntress laid on the ground, her chest moving up and down. Yoru´s eyes opened and moved from left to right many times before focusing into the green leaves that covered the sky. ``Am I alive?´´ she murmured to herself, every muscle of her body stirred with pain when she tried to move. ``I guess so´´ Yoru said to herself then something in her mind made her look to the side. The meat she was cooking hours ago was completely burnt and the fire had long extinguished but at least the rocks around the bonfire kept the flames away from the trees. ``_No dinner tonight´´ _the huntress sighed, the only option was to wait the pain subside.

A kelbi walked casually through, it sniffed the air a few times detecting a strange aroma. The creature reached the body of the huntress, lowered it´s head and licked her forehead. ``Aahhhh!´´ Yoru shouted frustrated, the monster got scared and ran away. ``It seems I am weak after all…that Igna-I don´t know what- was right. To fight these monsters and end like this… ´´ the girl looked at the stars. ``But I will show them. I will defeat an elder dragon, with this equipment. Someday, even if it takes years, but I surely will´´ she smiled at the moon, ``And when I return to Kokoto, that red hunter will know my true strength. This is my dream, my purpose´´ Yoru closed her eyes and fell asleep.

**(One month later)**

**(Old jungle)**

Yoru jumped into a river with just her sword in hand but the fishes swan away the moment her body touched the water leaving the huntress with just wet armor. She emerged from the water and looked around, no more fishes could be seem. ``If only I had a fishing rod with me…´´ she said swimming towards the shore. ``Oh! Hello there!´´ a raspy voice said when Yoru shook her head to let the water fall down, she turned around but saw no one around. ``Down here´´ the voice said again and the huntress obeyed.

A small bald man, with short white beard, reddish skin carrying a small backpack and using a wooden stick as support was staring at the taller woman with a frown. ``I think you need some tips´´ the elder said looking at the river, ``I just need a fishing rod and I am done´´ Yoru argued, the elder nodded thinking with eyes closed and then looked upwards. ``You are a monster hunter, right?´´ he asked and the woman nodded. ``If you need something but can´t buy it, you create it yourself with the things around you. That´s how you survive in these parts…´´ the elder told, ``Create it myself? With what?´´ she asked the elder, ``Use your head, girl!´´ the elder shouted angry, ``Wood and web, that´s all you need. Now go on and search! I have better things to do!´´ the man walked away, ``Hey! Can you at least tell me your name?!´´ Yoru asked. ``Haikan!´´ the traveler answered without looking back, ``Thanks Haikan!´´ Yoru waved smiling.

**(Three months later)**

**(Old Swamp)**

Inside a wet cave a human figure stood close to the rocky wall, water drops fell on small polls and also on the woman´s head. Yoru had a pickaxe made of stone, wooden stick and liana. Three broken pickaxes laid on the ground at the side of a pile of rocks. ``_I need whetstones and iron ore. All that I got is more rock and this blue shard ´´_the huntress murmured hitting the wall with all her might. A piece of iron fell on the ground and a smile crossed Yoru´s face. ``Here it is´´ she said looking at the wall where a chunk of iron could be seem.

After some mining the woman sat on the ground with a pile of iron shards and the blue shard on her hand. ``What kind of metal is this? Maybe something rare, something worthless…better carry with me´´ she said grabbing a bag made of intertwined vines and placing all the stones on it except for the only whetstone she got. She raised from the ground and went towards the wall where her dull sword and battered shield stood. The huntress threw the bag on the ground and started to rub the whetstone on the blade several times making a raspy noise. ``The blade is getting thin…I need to find a way to combine the iron with it. Maybe with fire…or lava. Yes! If I find a volcanic area I should be able to melt the iron and fix my sword!´´ Yoru thought rubbing the stone one more time. Satisfied with her work she put the stone inside the bag for future uses, she discovered that the stone could be used up to three times before becoming unusable. Most hunters used the stones only one time, because the second time it is less effective and takes more time to sharp the weapon. But to Yoru this was a waste of resources and she didn´t mind taking twice the time if necessary since her tools were scarce.

``Gah! Someone help me!´´ someone shouted, Yoru quickly got up, grabbing her weapons and looking around to search for the source. What she saw could be described as funny, terrible, weird or all the three combined. Haikan was fleeing from an eyeless placid white creature with a larval like head and red mouth. The Khezu made a screeching roar as it chased the man while getting closer and closer. For some reason the elder aimed at an specific wall not too far away from the huntress where a pile of dung emitted a foul stench, the moment he jumped at the pile the monster roared louder and took a few steps back while waving it´s head. ``_It worked!´´ _Haikan celebrated but almost vomited when he smelled the horrible material.

The monster tried to approach the man several times but retreated every time with a loud screech, almost if the fouls smell was repelling it. When Yoru took a step forward it suddenly turned towards the huntress, smelling the air several times before adopting an offensive stance with it´s head lowered. Yoru raised her shield, making a clicking noise, the monster raised it´s head and fired three orbs of blue lighting into the ground. She jumped to the side avoiding the only ball that went on her direction, ``_Lighting? I am so dead´´ _she thought remembering her armor was made of iron.

The Khezu jumped at the huntress but she jumped back and attacked the monster´s neck with the sword but it bounced of the skin as if it was made of iron despite it´s appearance. The monster shook it´s neck to the sides stretching the skin and making I twice the normal size, Yoru was hit on the stomach by the sheer amount of muscles and fell on the ground with a thud. The Khezu sniffed the air again and prepared to launch a big ball of electricity at the woman but she rolled to the side way before the attack had chance to connect. Back on her feet Yoru raised her shield again.

``He is attracted to noises and smells!´´ Haikan shouted from the dung pile, the monster turned at him for one second before turning his attention back to his prey. ``Sound?´´ Yoru murmured grabbing a stone from the ground still looking at her opponent. She threw the rock with all her might to the right, the creature turned it´s head for two seconds before realizing the incoming huntress. Noticing that she wouldn´t make it in time Yoru threw her shield to the left, provoking a very loud noise and distracting the monster again.

``_Maybe the wings´´_ she thought preparing to jump, the sword bounced off again and she lost balance but managed to stand as the Khezu moved around trying to hit her with his small tail. The huntress ducked, ``U_nder the body?´´_ she thought extending her legs the fastest she could and delivering a blow on the belly but it was ineffective. The monster jumped back and prepared to fire more lighting balls, Yoru dodged the first three but then the creature launched a barrage of five spheres, one close to the other. The huntress tried to jump but a sphere hit her legs and she fell on the ground hitting her chin on the hard rock.

Haikan watched hopeless the monster walk towards the girl, he was just an ordinary man without any fighting abilities. Even though he traveled through many dangerous places, he never needed to fight any of these creatures. However, he met several hunters along his journeys and knew that this huntress was a novice judging by her equipment. It was a feat indeed that she has survived this much against such wyvern, but her luck had reached it´s end. The elder saw the huntress´ shield not too far away from the monster but it was suicide to reach it. ``_No matter, she is fighting to save us both and I am here using this dung as cover_´´the man though with a gulp, that foul smell seemed less important at this moment. When he decided to rise from the ground he saw movement on the ground.

Yoru roared in pain as she crawled towards the shield, it felt like several spikes had penetrated her feet and yet she continued to crawl with sword in hand. The monster seemed dizzy with all the screaming, it shook it´s head several times trying to clear it´s senses with little success. ``_Just…a little closer…´´_she thought stretching her arm, the shield just a few inches from her fingers. The Khezu roared angry with the huntress´ screaming and prepared to jump forward. Yoru was almost reaching her object when she heard movement coming from behind, her fingers finally made contact.

The huntress felt the massive weight of the monster on her shield pushing her body more and more into the cave´s ground. Fortunately she managed to grab the shield and turn her body just a few moments before the creature clashed. For some odd reason the monster just jumped at her, his feet landed at the huntress´ side and the stomach barely touched the metal shield. But the moment of relief changed to despair when the monster attacked with it´s head, striking the shield with muscles and teeth.

``You bastard!´´ she shouted hitting the monster´s neck with her sword while blocking with the shield. Yoru focused on one spot of the neck as she hit several and soon blood started to drip from the wound. ``Get off me!´´ she screamed stabbing the injury, the monster roared in pain and backed off with the sword stuck in it´s body. The huntress got on her feet the fastest she could and examined her shield, it was very deformed on the middle and slightly on the borders. The Khezu roared at the woman, but the sound was slightly different, a more reluctant tone. Yoru prepared herself despite the fact her sword was still stuck on the creature´s neck, but then it jumped on the cave´s roof and disappeared in the darkness screaming in agony.

``Get back here with my sword!´´ the huntress screamed but the creature´s noise got weaker until only dripping water could be heard. ``Dam it!´´ she cursed walking from left to right several times. Haikan approached with caution the angry huntress but the dung on his clothes denounced his presence. ``Ugh! Did you throw yourself into a dung pile or something?´´ she grabbed her noise in disgust, ``Pretty much´´ the elder answered getting his backpack from his back and opening it. Haikan soon found what he wanted, a pouch sphere with the word ``deodorant´´ on it, he threw it on the ground producing a light blue smoke around the duo. When it vanished a faint flower smell filled their noses. ``Ah! Much better´´ Haikan said relieved, ``What was that?´´ the huntress asked, ``Deodorant made of a herb and a flower, forgot their names though´´ the elder admitted. ``By the way, thanks for saving me. I own you one´´ he smiled at the taller figure, ``You helped me back on the jungle, I was just returning the favor´´ she smiled but then looked at her shield. ``I was going to a volcano to fix my sword, but it seems I don´t need it anymore. Heck! I don´t even know where I can find a volcano´´ she hit her head with her palm.

``I can help you with that, just wait a second…´´ Haikan told searching his bag, he grabbed a piece of paper with several marks and lines. ``This is a map of the nearby regions, take it´´ he offered the paper, ``I can´t take it, it´s yours´´ Yoru argued. ``Don´t worry, this is my spare one´´ the elder said and she accepted. The huntress examined the paper with interest, there was a small dot on the desert area with the word "heavy sword" on it. ``What is this?´´ she asked showing the map, ``Oh…when I travelled through that area I found a big sword stuck on the ground of a cave, it looked pretty rusted and I couldn´t take it off so I let it alone´´ Haikan answered. ``A sword? That could be useful´´ she said thinking, ``It is very rusted´´ Haikan warned, ``It doesn´t matter, I need a weapon´´ she said going towards her backpack and placing the paper inside.

``You can´t go there! It is filled with genprey, apceros and even a diablos! Why you don´t buy another one from your village?´´ Haikan screamed, Yoru´s face darkened. ``I don´t have a village, or a home for that matter…´´ the huntress bit her lip. `` You can´t stop me, I won´t rest until I kill a dragon´´ she answered.

``Trying to prove something?´´ the man guessed and she nodded. ``Fine, I won´t stop you, this isn´t my problem. But take care of yourself´´ he said walking towards the wall. Some could say that Haikan was selfish, he was always busy with his own problems and cared little for others. However, if you had something he wanted you could exchange with something else. Somehow he also felt obliged to help new hunters, no one knew why, though his patience was very thin and he hated many questions.

``By the way, what you were doing here?´´ Yoru asked, ``Me? I am searching for a rare ore for my collection, a machalite ore´´ he answered staring at the rocks. ``Machalite? How you can tell it from the other regular rocks?´´ she asked raising her brow. ``It´s is a blue shinning rock´´ the elder said without looking back, ``You mean like this one?´´ the huntress asked with the blue stone she got earlier on her hand. Haikan turned, a pleasing smile crossed his lips as if he saw a long lost friend and approached with haste. ``That´s it! Where did you get it?!´´ he asked jumping with joy, Yoru barely contained her laugh.

``I found it while mining for iron ores, I got this a few moments before you came with that white monster´´ the huntress answered handing the stone to the man, he carefully examined the stone, rotating it and knocking the hard surface a few times. ``Oh my! I have been searching this for an entire month! Can I have it?´´ he asked looking upwards, his eyes shone like stars in the clear night. ``Why not? I don´t have a use for this anyway...I am not a person that ask things but…´´ she rubbed her head ashamed, ``…do you have something to keep me cold while I am at the desert? A cloak to cover my head or something?´´ Yoru asked. ``Bah! These things won´t help you! Let me see…´´ Haikan told searching his bag once more, he found three large flasks containing a light blue liquid. ``These are my cold drinks, I created them myself. They are more powerful than the common cold drinks because I used ice crystals. Each should last an entire day so you have three days to grab that rusty sword and get out of that scalding place´´ Haikan handed the potions to the huntress.

``If I can´t change your mind, this is the least I can do. Be warned though…´´ Haikan said, ``The cave you seek is a lot colder than this one and the home of some creatures, though I didn´t see one when I was there. The night on the desert is also cold as the snowy mountains so you have to take shelter at night´´ the elder said. ``Thanks for the help, good luck on your quest´´ Yoru said walking towards the cave´s exit with her bag and smashed shield. ``The same for you, friend´´ the man said smiling.


	4. Blind Rage

**Warning:There is a part which mentions wounds and blood, though they aren´t gruesome nor too much descriptive. So it isn´t enough to be M, but it is a bit more violent than the last chapters. Since this is a Monster Hunter fanfiction, where men fight beasts with swords,lances,etc, it will be common for me to mention wounds(of the monsters) and sometimes injured hunters(though I won´t overdo the description). However, rest assured that I won´t go into detail about the carving process, since it would be M rating.**

**(Kokoto Village)**

Rick was checking the job´s board inside the tavern when suddenly a piece of paper caught his attention:

_``Mission type: Hunt._

_Rank:4 stars._

_Payment:6000 gold and a light crystal._

_Area:Old Swamp._

_Description:I need to gather some lesser ores for my smithy, unfortunately a white wyvern in hindering my job. A bloodied Khezu has made home in the cave where I gather stones and I can´t handle it alone, so please slay the beast and you will be rewarded(...)´´_

``Yahoo!´´ the man jumped in joy with paper the in hand, catching everyone´s attention. ``Gueez…what´s wrong with him?´´ Ignavus mumbled at the other side of the room. ``Don´t tell me, you found it, didn´t you?´´ Derek walked towards the rubber knight with a faint smile on his face. ``After months I finally found a Khezu to kill, now it´s my chance! I have to talk to the old man before someone else does!´´ Rick said and rushed towards the door. ``Well…that´s good news´´ Derek admitted to himself, though he sighed remembering the young huntress he had saved three months ago. ``_I wonder what happened to Yoru…´´_ he thought walking towards the balcony.

After a month searching for the huntress, Rick told his friend that was useless to continue searching and that if he didn´t accomplish any more jobs his reputation would fall and the money he earned would end. After some consideration and a lot of time alone, Derek decided to follow his rival´s suggestions and returned to hunt. He pushed his limits bit by bit every mission, fighting many wyverns and other creatures as he searched on the area. However, he never found anything about the woman and when he contacted nearby villages they said that they never saw a red haired huntress. This didn´t stop his motivation, that was as big as his desire to fight the legendary dragon.

**(Old Jungle)**

Rick kneeled at a cave´s entrance where he saw some footprints, ``_Hum…this is certainly a wyvern, though I never saw a Khezu besides the descriptions of the books_´´ he thought raising from the ground. A very large metal hammer was attached to his back by some ropes, he loosed them and grabbed the giant weapon with both hands as he walked towards the cave entrance. After an exhaustive training Rick managed to finally wield one of the heaviest weapons available for hunters, weighing even more than a common greatsword. The hunter discovered that his main weakness was mobility, the greatshield coupled with the lance was a heavy burden to carry against fast creatures. Now, he could run with the hammer draw but had to take care to not be hit while swinging the massive weapon. He trained every day rolling again and again with the hammer in hand until he could dodge three times straight with easy.

Water drops were the only thing that could be heard inside the rocky formation, water poured in a constantly on the rubber knight´s head as he looked at the sides. Then a larger drop landed on his helm, the hunter touched it with his hand and stared at the liquid. It was thicker than water, viscous like…like…With a grim realization Rick looked upwards as a white figure clashed on the ground.

It was a Khezu, the monster Rick was supposed to hunt and that now was hunting him. The creature had a gash on the ring side of it´s head where a sword was stuck and a bit of blood was coming out. The hunter hit the monster´s head on the left side with a swift movement of the hammer, the creature groaned in pain and walked backwards giving the opportunity for the hunter to recover. He finally noticed the wound in the monster´s head, ``_A hunter´s knife? Someone must have failed… ´´_ he thought sad. Sure, a hunter´s live was extremely dangerous, but that´s why the humans had contracts with the felynes where they would give felvine(the cat´s favorite herb) and one third of the reward(for each rescue) in exchange for first aid to every hunter that fell unconscious. Rick didn´t doubt that a cat was hiding nearby watching his fight ready to call the others should he fail. Of course, that didn´t mean he could be careless against such powerful creature, he could die before the felines have time to attend him.

``Come on eyeless larva! I am not shocked by your trap!´´ the hunter taunted preparing his hammer for a hard strike. Ironically, the monster fired it´s famed electricity ball at the man, the sphere crossed the ground and went straight to the hunter. Rick´s eyes widened in surprise, he rolled out of the way but the attack caught the hammer´s tip, the electricity spread across the weapon and reached the hunter´s body. He grunted injured but soon the pain ceased, his rubber armor absorbed most of the electricity before it could really damage his body. ``Hehehe, now I'm shocked! But that´s not enough!´´ he grinned .

**(Old desert)**

It was dawn in a vast desert plain, a hunter was walking alone, a bag and deformed shield were the only things the figure carried. Some would throw the shield away or don´t even care about what´s inside the self made bag, but not the red huntress. The ores were heavy and the shield of little utility in the current state, but like the first hunters in the world, stones and circles made the path towards civilization and so the huntress thought they would forge her way to greatness. It was her second day on the desert, soon she had to drink the second potion since she drunk the first one on the first day. Yoru thought for many hours when she was suppose to use the first drink to use the potion´s benefit at maximum. Noticing that her armor would get hotter with sunrise she decided to use the first drink when the fire orb appeared on the horizon. To further increase her time, she entered the limits of the desert three hours before dawn and experienced the hard but bearable cold of the desert.

The sphere´s shinning spears of light emerged on the horizon and little by little the ground received the warmth of the fire tyrant, now timid but that soon would become ferocious as a dragon´s fire. Yoru sighed, her time was running out, if she don´t find the sword today her only option is to return to the forest or find another weapon since it took an entire day to reach this point. She drunk one of the cool drinks and checked her map again, now that there is light, and read the annotations. ``According to this, there should be cavern around…Ah!´´ the huntress fell through the sand.

Darkness filled the woman´s head like a silent assassin, her body laid emotionless on a sand covered ground. Her bag´s content was spread across the ground, the last flask broken in the process, the only thing intact were the ores, the map, three green herbs, a blue herb, a piece of clothing and the shield wrapped around the huntress´ arm. Something stirred across the cave´s shadows, another movement from the other side, two more and then a snarl. Yoru´s eyes opened in a flash, her instincts telling she was in danger. She quickly got on her feet, but felt dizzy and fell on her back. Five creatures appeared from the shadows, they looked like the blue velociprey, but had a brown sand scheme to their skin. The middle one was almost twice the size with a crown like bone in the head.

Genprey were close relatives to the velociprey, they had raptor like appearance with fangs that could cut an aptonoth´s skin like butter. Also, the claws were covered with a potent neurotoxin which could paralyze hunters with one or two cuts. The leader, Gendrome, lead the other genpreys to hunt in packs across the desert areas, even an experienced hunter needed to take against these creatures because of their team work and combined attacks.

Yoru bit her lip, her whole body hurt from the fall and she was having a hard time just keeping her eyes open. The gendrome got closer and closer with its pack, the head lowered as it prepared to jump. The huntress tried to get up again but failed, the other genprey walked to the sides, circling her as the leader snarled. ``I defeated your blue brother before! There is no way I will be beaten!´´ she defied the creature standing with her hand on the kneels. ``I will…find the sword…and when I get it…!´´ she looked upwards but stopped talking when she saw the creature jumping. She stepped to the side and hit the back of the drome with the shield with all her strength. The monster turned its head for a bite but the huntress jumped back and then forward hitting the creature´s head. Yoru jumped back to take a breath, the drome shook its head a few times before focusing again, the leader snarled and then charged. Yoru raised her shield to block the attack but the drome jumped to the side and raised its claws to scratch the huntress.

Blood drops fell on the ground, Yoru fell on the ground with a thud as the gendrome roared into the sky. She raised her head to see her enemy, the left eye closed with a scratch running down from the eye to the cheek. Blood ran from her face and her left shoulder. The gendrome continued to roar, mocking its fallen prey and angering even more the huntress. The huntress felt something deep inside her, a feeling she faced only once in her life. Fear of death, when she was attacked at the jungle she felt the same thing, the despair that comes to everyone that see death in the eyes. For some, shame fills their mind while for others life itself appears before them as a thunder´s flash. But Yoru didn´t feel any of these emotions, only one thing filled her mind in that moment, something humans despised because it is what links creatures they hunt and themselves. _**Survival. **_The only thing the huntress wanted to do was to kill that monster, escaping was impossible at that point. She wanted to give the monster the same coin, the same injuries and despair. Anger filled her body, giving her strength beyond any drug or potion available for hunters.

``You…bastard…ugh! I am not dead yet…´´ she murmured crawling towards the creature. ``For my sake, for my honor…I won´t… let you win!´´ a blood tear fell on the ground as pain run through her shoulder as a red river. She gathered all her strength in her left arm and then stroke the monster´s leg with the shield. The gendrome felt the sudden pain and his leg shaking. It looked down to see the huntress hitting the same spot again, making him topple and fall on the ground. Yoru managed to get on her kneels as the monster tried, without success, to raise from the ground. With a dark look on her face she raised her fist high in the sky, this was the last thing the creature saw before everything became darkness. With many shield strikes the monster´s bones were smashed making a "crack" sound with every hit as the creature roared in pain. With one last roar the Gendrome´s body fell limp in the ground.

The roar seemed to catch the pack´s attention, the genprey stopped walking in circles and faced the one who defeated their leader, it almost looked like the boss said ``Kill her´´ to its minions. Yoru raised from the ground holding her shoulder, more blood drops stained the ground as she observed the pack.

A flute blew through the cave, echoing like many war drums in unison. A giant object raised behind the pack and a different note echoed catching the genprey attention and making them turn around. Yoru felt a small burst of strenght and the pain going away(though she was still bleeding), she looked at the source of the sound and her mouth fell in disbelief at what she saw. A hunter wearing plate armor, in the stomach section blue scales added extra protection to the vital organs, orange and sand colored fins could be seem at the shoulders and the top of the helm. He was holding a hammer like object with a hole on the top, he stomped the ground many times as the sound came from the weapon ``Let´s dance!´´ the hunter said as his prey rushed towards him, he smashed the first one with the weapon, spun around so he could get a better grip and then swung the hammer horizontally hitting two more. The last monster jumped at him but he moved the weapon vertically, breaking the creature´s bones and sending it to the side.

Yoru blinked many times, ``_That hunter killed them without any effort´´ _ she though amazed but then fell on her kneels. The pain returned stronger than before, her breathing became heavier and sweet drops joined the bloody ones. The hunter raised the helm´s visor and cleaned his forehand with his free hand, ``Hey! Are you ok?!´´ he left the weapon fall on the ground and rushed to the huntress. ``Who…are you?´´ she asked lifting her head with effort. The man kneeled in front of Yoru and then noticed the gash on the shoulder and the blood coming from the eye. ``You are bleeding!´´ he exclaimed searching a bag on his back where he stocked a potions and a whetstone but when he grabbed a flask with a green substance Yoru´s eyes widened. ``N-No!´´ the red haired huntress clumsy slapped the man´s hand spilling part of the liquid on the ground. ``Let me help you or you won´t make it!´´ the hunter insisted. With a long grunt the huntress stood on her feet and looked at the hunter´s eyes. ``I don´t*cough* need your potions…I have my own herbs…´´ she mumbled stumbling towards her bag. With another grunt she kneeled and grabbed the only blue herb she had and proceeded to chew it. ``An herb won´t close that wound! Let me patch it!´´ the man insisted.

Yoru spitted on her right hand the now chewed herb, she placed it on her left shoulder but screamed when it made contact. Gritting her teeth, the huntress rubbed her blood stained hand through the wound some times and then stopped. The man observed the breathless woman with a mixture of indignation and surprise. ``_She is applying the antidote herb directly at the wound so it won´t get infected! But there is still the wound itself, if she don´t keep it close it will reopen later. I must help her! But she is so stubborn! Maybe if I play my hunting horn…´´ _he thought, ``Don´t touch that hammer! Agh! I know it healed me before!´´ she shouted while chewing green herbs.

The truth was Yoru didn´t want to be saved by another hunter. She didn't want to be dependant of others since that only brought sadness before. How could she tell her dream was to kill a dragon if she wasn´t able to endure a few wounds of a lesser monster? No, she couldn´t do that. To the huntress, to be a monster hunter is to survive using one´s own resources, not a potent potion brought by a fellow friend on the battlefield. This was her dogma, which she adopted from Haikan, to be self sufficient. She finished eating the last herb, gulped and sighed. She still felt a good deal of pain on the shoulder and eye, but it was a bit more tolerable. She glanced at the piece of clothing she brought with her, remembering how she got it.

During her first day in the desert, Yoru found an unoccupied hut with nothing inside but a common bloody knife, it was just an empty circular canvas kept together by three wooden sticks. But the hunter knew better, she used the old knife to cut pieces of the canvas and the sticks. The sticks were used to make a bonfire in the same night and the tissues to wrap the herbs she gathered before in the forest. The huntress kept an extra tissue, larger than the others to wrap herbs and fruits in the future.

The tissue wrapped around her shoulder, Yoru took a breath to regain her strength and then raised from the ground. ``What´s your name?´´ she asked not looking back, ``You need…´´ the man tried to say, ``I don´t need your help! Huh,huh…I asked your name´´ the huntress shouted placing her hand on her wounded eye. ``Elvis´´ the man told crossing his arms, that woman was really stubborn. ``Thanks for the help, I will remember that. Name´s Ruby´´ she lied about her name. The huntress didn´t know if he was a hunter from Kokoto, but even so she decided to not let Derek find her until she killed a dragon. ``What the hell a low rank hunter like you is doing in these parts? I thought only 3 stars up were allowed to venture this far´´ Elvis said suspicious by the fact a one rank hunter was hunting in a desolate area. ``Attacked by the big boss over there´´ she pointed towards the Gendrome´s body, Elvis looked at the corpse without much interest. ``And where´s your weapon? Lost during the battle?´´ the hunter asked. ``I came here to find a new sword, since a vermin stole my last one a week ago´´ she answered. ``So you telling me you fought a Gendrome without a weapon? Hahaha! You gotta be joking me!´´ Elvis laughed but when he looked back at the huntress he noticed she only had a small, half broken shield. ``Wait! Are you serious?!´´ he asked.

Yoru felt pain in her injured eye, there was less blood now that she cleaned it but still hurt. She blinked a few times, then rubbed her eye with her arm and grunted a few times in the process. ``I can´t, I can´t…´´ she murmured staring at her bloody stained arm with eyes widened, she could see only her fist and the ground. ``I ca-I can´t´´ she continued to repeat, leaving Elvis nervous. ``You can´t what?!´´ he asked. ``I can´t see!´´ she turned, only a bit of blood covered her eye, her pupil was white where the drome´s claw hit her before. ``This can´t be! How that lowly beast do this to me?! What I am supposed to do now?´´ she talked alone while grabbing her helm with both hands. ``Let me see it´´ Elvis said walking forward, `` I said I don´t need your help!´´ Yoru argued . ``Maybe I can do something about it!´´ the hunter protested, ``My left eye is already blind! What you can do? Nothing!´´ the huntress turned and started to walk towards her bag. ``Your behavior will end killing you!´´ Elvis warned, ``I don´t care! If I can´t do this alone, I am not worth of returning!´´ she shouted back and then proceeded to walk away with her belongings. _``Not worth of returning? To where?´´ _Elvis thought as the woman disappeared through a tunnel.

The truth was Yoru was still pretty much angry with the fact that someone saved her from certain death once again. It disgusted her, to the point she didn´t even feel the pain on her eye anymore. If someday joked by saying "Blind rage" in that moment, this same person would end like the Gendrome. The only way the huntress found to let her stress out was to focus it into something nearby and sadly Elvis was the only one around. A small part of her was grateful he saved her, but the other still hated the fact she needed help from someone else. The huntress didn´t want to be tricked anymore, not by kind words of a savior she just met. This suspicious, coupled with her desire to be the best, stirred the woman to don´t trust any other hunter.

Then Haikan came to her mind, that "dwarf" was very generous with her, giving a couple of precious tips and resources. He didn´t trick her once, at least until now. She trusted that the map he gave her was correct and that there would be a sword awaiting her, even though it was pretty rusted. ``_A sword is a sword´´_ she thought walking through the tunnel. Soon all turned dark, but the huntress continued without caring, she was used to move through the night and this was no different. ``My shoulder still hurts.I hope I don´t get an infection, dam…Why it had to hit my eye…?´´ she mumbled to herself grabbing the bloody tissue with her hand.

Back at Elvis, the man kneeled to inspect the Gendrome´s body, still not believing the huntress´ claims. He noticed there was no blood except for the bloodied eye of the beast, ``Eye by eye, tooth by tooth I guess…´´ he said to himself and then inspected the rest of the body. ``This femur seems to be in an odd angle…Wait, the bones are broken. Here too, and here and here…The bones pierced the organs creating a severe internal bleeding, woah! This one suffered a lot before its death! But a simple punch can´t do this, no…it is something else but what in the world she used?´´ Elvis spoke analyzing the corpse. The smashed shield came into his mind, ``You got to be kidding me!´´ his eyes widened at the sudden realization.

Despite the menacing appearance, hunting horns also were used to support comrades during jobs. When a hunter "plays" the horn, it produces a sound which affects human organs, making them work faster or better. Some say it affects mind itself, tricking the brain to work harder or to do specific tasks. The effects were diverse and new sounds were discovered from time to time. In some sense, a hunter wielding a hunting horn is very similar to a battlefield medic but at the same time a force to be recognized. These hunters generally are specialized with normal hammers and use the horn´s size to do a similar work. Elvis learned both the offensive and supportive capabilities of the hunting horn, but like any weapon, it had its disadvantages. For instance, the hunter needs several precious seconds to play a sound and is vulnerable meanwhile. Also, because of the sheer size of the weapon, one miss could cost one´s life. That´s why other hunters always have the task to attract the monster´s attention while the "medic" boosts their abilities.

However, few hunters would hunt alone with the hunting horn, using the healing capabilities before the fight and using the weapon like a hammer to finish off the monsters. Elvis was one of these hunters, he studied the anatomy of many monsters to know their weak spots and the resistant ones. Recently he started to search about the human body, he generally didn´t hunt in group, but knew that as a "medic" it is extremely important to treat his comrades. As far as he was concerned he didn´t need anything more, he was skilled in offense, boosts, had a powerful offense, the enemy´s weakness and knew how to heal his friends. The perfect hunter in a sense, at least this is what he thought.

``Well, it looks like my work is done, the genprey and gendrome are dead. I am lucky this wasn´t a promotion hunt or I would have failed. Gueez...I think I own her a part of the reward´´ he sighed rising and grabbing his weapon. Something moved in the shadows, like someone stepping in the sand, ``Who´s there?!´´ he asked, hunting horn in hand. A white cat with brown fur came from behind a group of rocks which were close to the cave´s wall. ``Sorry Miauh! Just doing my job´´ the humanoid cat spoke with arms raised. ``You scared the hell out of me!´´ the man sighed in relief lowering his weapon. ``Now let´s carve some materials´´ Elvis said walking towards the corpses.

Meanwhile, Yoru felt a cold breeze sweep through her body. ``There is an air current from the other side, maybe it is the exit´´ she murmured holding her shoulder. Soon light poured through the tunnel, allowing the huntress to see where she was going. There was another long cave with an opening in the roof. The ground was made of rock with occasional sand on some spots, right under the light a long sword was stuck vertically on the ground. ``There it is!´´ Yoru rejoiced walking faster, the happiness she felt almost nullified the pain on her body. When she reached it she took a look at the sword, the blade was covered with rust and bits of it were missing and the hilt hadn´t protection for the hand. But something caught the huntress´ attention, the sword was three times longer than her last sword, not very dissimilar to the sword Ignavus carried.

``_If I find a way to repair it, it will be a great sword!´´ _she thought already thinking on how to infuse her ores into the blade. ``But first, I must take it´´ she said grabbing the hilt. She forced her body backwards for a few seconds, grunting with the effort and the pain from her wound. ``Uf! Uf! Dam it! It is stuck and this wound isn´t helping either´´ she said gasping. Yoru tried again, this time with even more pressure, ``Get…out!´´ she mumbled with her blind eye closed. Nothing, the sword was still stuck. The huntress sat on the ground, huffing and sweating. ``I can´t believe it, after all this effort, my eyesight and a wound for nothing! Haikan was right, this sword is heavy, though he is much weaker than I. No! I can´t leave this place without a weapon! With this wound and only one eye I will surely be killed. But my last cool drink was cursed, this means I have just today to go back to the forest. What do I do?´´ she asked looking back at the sword.

It was still stuck, but it was slightly pending to the left. Yoru cleaned her right eye, she couldn´t believe her eyes. She raised from the ground with new vigor, though her arm still hurt. Grabbing the hilt with her right hand she felt the sword had loosened, she moved to the left and felt the metal scraping the rock, creating space. ``_This is it!_ ´´ she thought smiling, she moved the hilt to the sides consecutive times. When she felt it had enough space she tightened her grip and pulled the sword. Yoru stood with her arm raised towards the sky with the sword in hand, ``I did it!´´ she shouted. Her happiness, however was short lived. The weight of the weapon pushed the huntress backwards, ``Ah!´´ was the only thing she managed to say before falling on her back. Back with Elvis, the hunter had just finishing carving some materials and putting them on a bag brought by the felyne. ``Meh, I guess it was too heavy for she´´ Elvis snickered looking at the tunnel.

Yoru sat on the ground, the sword laid on the ground. ``No wonder this was stuck, it weights a ton´´ she remarked looking at the weapon. The huntress grabbed the hilt with her right hand and tried to lift the sword but it was too heavy. Then, she raised from the ground and tried again with both hands, with some effort she managed to drag the sword for a few meters without much problem. ``Well, that´s better´´ she said letting the weapon fall on the ground, her shoulder was itching and she felt it becoming hotter and hotter. ``What now? I already used my herbs. Ugh, I better find something to cool it´´ the huntress looked at the sides, she heard water running through the rocks and went to the side of the cave. There was a subterranean lake flowing through the cave and part of it was visible. Yoru kneeled and then touched the water, it was cold. ``_Maybe I can use it to clean my wound, but what if it is salty? It would burn like hell´´_ she thought forming a cup with her hands and then tasting the cold liquid. ``No, it is fine´´ she sighed and then proceeded to undo the node of the fabric.

Meanwhile, two red eyes watched the huntress from the shadows. They stood completely still as Yoru finished cleaning her wound. The red dots disappeared in the darkness when the huntress turned to grab her "new old sword".


	5. Hunting a huntress

**(Kokoto Village-Tavern)**

Derek was drinking a cup of water in a table when he heard the door open. He lazily turned his head towards the door, a hunter wearing a fin adorned armor with a blue patch on the belly. ``One more job done!´´ he said proudly, some smiled, others clapped a bit but most simply turned back to their business. Elvis had returned from his last job in the desert, he had already stocked the materials he carved from the beasts and left the hunting horn at his house. ``Do you mind if I join?´´ the medic hunter asked Derek, the red hunter nodded and then drunk one more drink. ``Hey, are you ok? Did you failed on a job or something?´´ Elvis asked noticing the hunter´s dark expression. ``No…It is just that I lost a friend´´ Derek mumbled tired, ``Oh, sorry about that´´ Elvis answered. ``Oh no, my friend isn´t dead. She just fled, but I know, deep in my heart, that she´s still alive somewhere´´ the red hunter said. ``What´s her name?´´ Elvis asked, ``Yoru´´ Derek answered.

The duo remained silent for a second, both didn´t know what to say. Finally, the silence came to an end when the door opened once again. ``Derek!´´ a male voice called, it was Rick. The rubber knight had his helm on his arm, the hammer on his back and a bloodied knife on the other hand. ``I did it! Now I am 4 stars!´´ the heavily clad man shouted, this time everyone cheered. A smile crossed Derek´s lips, his rival´s achievements somehow were the only things that made him happy in the last three months. Maybe it was because he imagined what kind of life Yoru could have lived and what kind of monster she would fight. A little part of the hunter said she was dead and with each passing day it grew even bigger than before. ``Cool! What monster did you fight?´´ Elvis asked, the rubber man came closer to the table. ``A Khezu, I had all the advantages over it, but I have to say. That vermin has some nasty tricks, almost got me when it jumped from the roof of the cave´´ Rick laughed. ``Vermin´´ the word echoed inside Elvi´s mind, why was that word familiar?

``What´s that? Did you had to use your carving knife to stab the Khezu?´´ Derek asked pointing to the blade. ``No, actually I found the beast with it on the neck. I believe some newbie tried to break the rules and kill the Khezu´´ the rubber hunter answered looking at the bloodied knife. ``I wonder if…´´ Derek mumbled, he knew he shouldn´t think too much about the huntress. Elvis glanced at the crude sword, that wasn´t a carving knife, that was a low quality hunter´s knife. ``I came here to find a new sword, since a vermin stole my last one in the last week´´ the words filled Elvis´ head and like a thunder ripping through the sky he shouted at the top of his lungs, ``I can´t believe it!´´, everyone looked at the "medic" hunter. ``This knife, did you say you got it from a Khezu?!´´ Elvis asked pointing to the weapon, ``Yes, why?´´ Rick asked concerned. ``I think I know who is the owner!´´ he answered.

``Who?´´ the rubber hunter asked, ``In my last job, I hunted a group of genprey commanded by a gendrome. I tracked them into a cave, where I killed the prey. There, I met a wounded huntress´´ Elvis spoke, Derek´s attention was caught in an instant. ``How was she? Did you asked her name? What was her hair color?! ´´ the red hunter asked shaking Elvis, ``Calm down pal, you are going to kill him´´ Rick joked. ``I believe she said her name was Ruby, a very stubborn huntress I would say. Had only a starter´s gear and a battered shield. She said she lost her sword to a vermin, that I believe is the same Khezu you killed, and was searching for another sword´´ Elvis shook his head to regain focus and then looked at the red hunter´s piercing eyes. ``And her hair color?´´ Derek asked, his hopes raising. ``Red ´´ Elvis answered.

``It is she!´´ both rivals shouted together, ``Uh? Do you know her?´´ the man asked, ``Her name is not Ruby, it is Yoru! She is alive!´´ Derek swung his arms in joy, Rick never saw his friend so happy in his life. ``Ah it is your friend, now I see why you are so energetic´´ Elvis giggled. ``But I also have bad news´´ the man narrowed his eyes. ``What?´´ both rivals asked concerned. ``It seems this Yoru fought a Gendrome with just a shield and won´´ Elvis answered, ``What?!´´ Derek and Rick almost broke the table with their weight. ``I couldn´t believe at first, but then I checked the corpse. There were many fractures and the creature´s eye was bleeding. But, she didn´t win without her deal of injuries. She had a gash on her shoulder and I believe also received a cut on the left eye, leaving her blind. I tried to help her but she refused and patched the wounds herself. I am not sure if she got an infection, but she administrated an antidote herb on her wounds, theoretically it should be enough ´´ Elvis called a maid to serve him a drink.

Derek got up from the table, ``Where did you find her?´´ he asked Elvis which stopped drinking and cleaned his mouth with the arm. ``Inside a cave to the east of the Old Desert, but it is too late to go there. We met a four days ago and I believe Yoru don´t want to be found´´ he said, ``Why she don´t want to be found?´´ Rick asked. ``She said something about "have to do this alone or I can´t go back". Can you tell me why she left ?´´ Elvis asked. ``Three months ago I found Yoru fatally injured and brought her back to the village, but Rick joked that a Kelbi hit her´´ Derek said sighing. ``I already said sorry´´ his rival argued. ``It doesn´t matter. That guy over there, he spread rumors that Yoru lost to a kelbi´´ Derek pointed towards Ignavus on the other side of the room. ``She blamed me and ran away, for several days I searched to no avail´´ the red hunter said, Elvis felt an urge to go there and beat the bastard of hunter but Rick placed a hand on his shoulder. ``They already fought and my friend won´´ Rick explained. Derek grabbed a map from his pouch and extended it on the table, he proceeded to look at the desert region. ``What are you doing?´´ Rick asked, ``Even though I want to go and search for Yoru, I have to know where she is heading right now´´ Derek answered.

The old jungle was situated to the North of the Village, with the Old Volcano on the tip of the map. The Old Swamp was on the West and the desert further away to the left. The Snowy Mountains, where some speculated lived an elder dragon, was placed on the far South. Another village, Jumbo, was built on the South, closer to the mountains and the sea. Finally, there was an area marked with a dragon head on the far east. To reach there, you had to cross a large lake, a group of very high mountains, followed by an desolated rocky area and then finally the destination: The Dragon Tower. This place, built long ago by man, was now in ruins. It was said to be the house of powerful monsters, and visited by many kinds of dragons and five star wyverns. Even Ignavus, a 6 stars hunter, didn´t dare to go there even with his party of hunters. Only the top hunters, that fought and survived a dragon had the slim chance of surviving that place and still had to have the authorization of Shen, the village´s master. This, coupled with legends and general fear, created a mysterious atmosphere about the place.

``She lost the sword in the swamp and then travelled to the desert. Can you point where you met her?´´ Derek looked at Elvis, ``Here´´ the man answered pointing to a spot. ``It should take almost an entire day to return to the swamp… ´´ Derek was interrupted by Elvis, ``It will take more, she got a sword and I believe it is too heavy for her. Maybe it is a greatsword´´ the medic said. ``With a thing of that size and without training it will take much more time´´ Rick noticed, ``She will get thirsty, where it´s the closest source of water?´´ Derek asked. ``Does she even have a map?´´ Elvis asked.

**(Old desert)**

Yoru let the sword fall on the sand, it was around midday and it was still getting hotter. ``Where in this sand ocean is the oasis?!´´ she said grabbing her map and taking a look at the paper, ``It should be close by now, but I can´t see anything´´ the huntress looked at the horizon with her palm covering her eyes, sweat fell from her face. The cool drink´s effect was almost completely gone, only giving a small boost against the heat. Yoru found difficult to carry the sword and resist the heat at the same time, even with all her determination, human body had its own limits and the huntress was no exception. To reduce the temperature, Yoru had taken of her helm and put inside her bag but the rest of her armor was getting warmer, accelerating the dehydration process. At least her shoulder was better, without any signs of necrosis or infection, with time it would eventually close. The huntress put the map on her bag and then grabbed the hilt of the sword, ``Of all places I could get this sword, why on the desert?´´ she bragged dragging the strangely heavy longsword. ``I must…go on…´´ she murmured climbing a large sand dune. When the huntress reached the top, she opened her mouth in awe and let the sword fall.

There was a large pound of water on the desert sand with some trees and moist grass around the borders. Many tents were distributed around the temporary lake, all of them had a strange pattern of red lines and circles going from the bottom to the top. But something was peculiar about the tents, they were too small for a common human to fit, maybe they were Haikan´s people? This isn´t important, there is water to be drunk. Yoru grabbed her sword and then walked down the dune keeping all her efforts in not falling down. What the huntress didn´t see was a thin rope placed in every dune around the oasis, she tripped and slipped. Despite the surprise she didn´t let go the sword, with the extra weigh the descent was a lot more unpleasantly than it should be.

Something covered the huntress´ face from the tyrant of fire. ``Meow! What do we have here?´´ a sweet male voice asked almost in a mocking tone, ``Is she a thief? Meow´´ a younger voice spoke. ``No, meow, these things shine too much´´ the first voice answered poking Yoru´s shoulder with a stick, the huntress shouted in pain, from all the places they could poke, why her injury? She opened her eyes gritting her teeth, killing intent filling her senses. What she saw were demons, with shinning eyes, straight horns, tail and…whiskers? ``She awoke! Run!´´ the younger voice screamed, the rest of the group except one ran the fastest they could from the angry woman. Yoru felt a little dizzy, was she seeing things? That surely looked like a demon when she awoke, but looking again, it looked more like a…cat? Placing her hand over her shoulder, the huntress blinked a few times, she really missed the vision of her left eye. ``Why you!´´ she prepared to launch herself towards the one that poked her when she noticed she was going to attack a grey cat. The cat had a crown made of sticks and a stave also made of wood with a small monster skull on the top. ``Sorry! Meow!´´ the cat said sweating and shaking his arms , ``You activated our trap, meow! We thought you were a thief or a monster, meow!´´ the cat apologized.

Yoru blinked again, this cat was different from the ones she saw on the village. Instead of white fur with a brown patch on the noise and pawns, it had grey fur except for the pawns and feet, which were totally white, and green eyes. The huntress looked around, she finally noticed the "trap" the cat was talking and the other cats hiding behind the tents. ``That was…´´ she said and the cats tensed, ``…very creative and efficient´´ she finished looking at the cat she supposed was the leader. The trap also functioned as an alarm, if someone tripped it would make a loud noise, alerting the entire village of cats Her adrenaline down, she felt guilt about the situation. ``Sorry for scaring your entire tribe, I just wanted some water´´ she said looking at the ground. ``It´s okay, meowth! Everyone! Come back here she isn´t a monster, just less furry than us, meow!´´ the leader joked, the others slowly came back. ``My name´s Gray and this is my tribe, meow´´ the cat spoke showing his relatives and friends with open arms. ``I am Yoru´´ she said, talking to a cat was really awkward.

``Can I have some water?´´ the red haired woman asked kneeled, ``Ah, a monster hunter I see. It has been quite some time since last saw one…´´ Gray spoke almost to himself, the other cats seemed quite sad about hearing the words "monster hunter". ``Come with me, I will give you some water´´ the cat gesticulated with his pawn to the red haired woman. Yoru raised and then grabbed the hilt of the sword, the other cats tensed, but this time it was a mix of fear and awe. Gray´s eyes widened when he saw the blade, ``Come human, we need to discuss something, meow…´´ the leader said walking faster to his tent, the biggest of the buildings, almost human sized. Once inside, the huntress noticed that even though it was the leader´s home, it was pretty simple. A brown cloth covered the ground, more clothing acted as a bed and pillow and some minor ornaments were scattered around. The triangle format greatly reduced the space but it was still possible for a human to sit without having to lean forward.

Gray grabbed a wooden jar and poured some water on a handcrafted wooden cup, ``Here´´ he offered the water to Yoru. ``You must be asking why we are different from the others, right?´´ the cat asked, ``Yes´´ the huntress answered returning the cup, the cat poured more water, ``I don´t think you know, but there are two kinds of us, meow. The white ones, Felynes, and the black ones, Melynx, Meow. You hunters would call us a subspecies, since we are half Felyne and half Melynx, hence the grey color´´ he offered more water. ``I see…´´ the woman answered. ``Where did you get that sword?´´ Gray asked glancing at the rusted blade, ``On a cave, why?´´ she said narrowing her eyes, the cat noticed the left one was white. ``Very heavy?´´ the grey cat asked, ``You can say that, but one day I will master it!´´ Yoru said proudly. ``Hard to believe, meow´´ Gray mocked, ``I dragged this sword for an entire day, don´t go saying I can´t do this´´ the huntress retorted. ``No one can master it, the only one who mastered it is dead´´ Gray said looking at the ground.

``Once, we lived with a group of human hunters. They defended us from the big monster and we provided food and home to live. When I was just a kitty there was one human who stood amongst the others, my best friend and our greatest protector. He had defeated many large creatures on his own with this sword, they said no one besides him could use this giant weapon without getting extremely exhausted. But with time, one after another, the hunters were killed in battle against the monsters. There is always someone stronger than you. He was the last hunter alive when I assumed the role of chief, but one day he followed the footprints of an unknown creature and was never seem again. If you found his sword, that means he is dead´´ Grey looked at the huntress.

``What was his name?´´ Yoru asked, ``I can´t remember his real name anymore, he almost never spoke it…But he had a title, and that I will never forget: Night Fury´´ the cat answered looking at the woman. ``Hum…Can I ask something?´´ the huntress asked, ``You already did, but yes you can´´ Gray answered, ``When I master this sword, can I use his title as my own?´´ she asked looking at the sword. ``Humph! IF you manage to do this, like you could´´ the cat snickered, Yoru restrained herself from shouting at the cat. ``I thought you would like to have the sword´´ she said, ``I wish I could. This thing is too big for us to carry around in the desert. I don´t think you noticed, but these tents are temporary. When the water dries, we will move to another place. ´´ Gray answered.

``So…Can I have it?´´ Yoru asked hopeful, `` Do you know how it is to sleep without knowing if someone dear to you is alive or dead?´´ the cat asked. ``Actually, no´´ Yoru said sincerely, ``Don´t you have a family? Friends?´´ Gray asked, ``One friend, but we met twice until now´´ she answered. ``Oh well…About the sword, you can have it. You answered a question that bugged me for years, for that I am grateful´´ Gray searched for something inside a box of leather, Yoru heard him mumbling something until she heard a happy "Meow!".

The chief had grabbed a flask containing a semi-transparent liquid and offered to the huntress, ``I have been guarding this for ages, it is…what you humans call? Cold drink?´´ Gray moved his ears to scare a mosquito. ``A Cool Drink´´ the woman corrected. ``Ah yes, meow! This isn´t going to last as long as it was intended, but it should work for a couple of hours, four or three, if it isn´t rotten´´ the chief said, ``If it isn´t rotten?´´ the huntress asked. ``Meow! Just kidding, can´t I have a joke? Meow!´´ Gray smiled. ``Thank you´´ Yoru bowed and then turned but stopped, ``How can I find you in the future?´´ she asked. ``Good question, meow! There are three temporary lakes that we use along the year, this is one of them. In a few weeks we will move to another one and stay there for some months. Do you have a map?´´ the cat asked, the huntress searched her bag and then opened the map, ``The lakes are these´´ the chief made a small cuts on the paper with his claws. ``Okay then, goodbye´´ Yoru curled the paper and offered her hand, the cat shook it. ``If you manage to use that thing, come back and we will celebrate´´ Gray said. ``I will´´ the huntress smiled.

**(Six days later)**

**(Gray´s village)**

Gray was at his tent thinking about the encounter with the huntress, somehow he felt sad for the human. His people lived with hunters for years until their demise, every one of them had a human as a friend and everyone missed their company. Bounds, that was what the humans called, when he was just a kitty he didn´t understand this concept but when the village was saved countless times by not just protectors, but friends, he understood what it meant. That poor huntress, she didn´t know this concept, maybe that´s why she was trying to prove herself, to show her valor to others the only way she knew: Glory in battle. To be the best hunter, to achieve something others couldn´t, to be a role model, be noticed and respected. He could only hope she eventually find new friends…

``Chief! Chief! There is a group of hunters wanting to met meet you!´´ a female cat entered the tent with haste, ``Meow?´´ Gray went outside with his staff. Derek, Rick and Elvis stood with the entire village around them, with their shinning armor they were like guardian angels to the cats. ``Who might be you?´´ Gray asked glancing from a hunter to another. ``My name´s Derek, he´s Rick and he´s Elvis´´ the red hunter introduced the trio. ``We are searching for a woman, did you saw she?´´ Rick asked, Elvis punched his head, ``Really? A woman? Can´t you be more specific or that´s all you can remember?!´´ the "medic" shouted. At first the group was focused on finding the huntress, but soon the differences between two of the hunters started to surface. Rick always made fast conclusions and was prone to be very little specific about things. Elvis, on the other way, liked to take every detail into account, his training on monster anatomy demanded that and he couldn´t give space to flaws and doubts. Derek had only one thing in his mind and for the most part ignored his companions.

``We are searching for a friend of mine. Her name is Yoru, she has red hair, probably is blind of one eye and uses a plain metal armor´´ Derek took of his helm.``Friend you say?´´ Gray rubbed his whiskers, ``Did she got separated from you or something?´´ Gray asked Derek, ``Hey, isn´t weird to talk with a Melynx?´´ Rick murmured to Elvis. ``We aren´t black, we are gray´´ one cat protested, ``And we don´t steal we just trade, Meow! That´s different, meow!´´ another argued. ``Be quiet you two. About Yoru, I sincerely can´t tell if she considers me as a friend anymore´´ Derek sighed, Gray got curious, ``Let´s say she blames me for something I didn´t mean to do and ran away. I need to find her or she will get killed for sure´´ the red hunter looked at the chief. ``Fine, you come with me, but your friends will have to wait outside´´ Gray turned to enter his tent, ``You two, don´t cause any trouble´´ the red hunter commanded before entering the tent.

``Who made him the leader?´´ Elvis asked, ``What´s your rank?´´ Rick asked, ``Three´´ the medic answered. ``I am four, but he is more experienced than me. I guess this makes him the leader, since he is four stars for quite some time´´ the rubber knight spoke. The duo finally noticed the staring cats and sweated with fear, ``This is creepy´´ both said. ``Sorry, meow!´´ the cats said in unison bowing. ``Sir hunter, could I take a look at your hammer? I won´t steal it! Promise, meow!´´ a cat walked towards Elvis, ``Hum…okay then. But take care, this is my only weapon!´´ the hunter put the weapon on the ground, making the cat jump with happiness. ``Meow! Thank you! Meow!´´ the cat said and soon an entire group was around the weapon, inspecting every detail. ``I hope they don´t break it´´ he said to Rick, a cat heard it and then raised its head to look at the man, ``Don´t worry, meow! We already manipulated many weapons, meow!´´ and then the cat returned to inspect. ``Was that supposed to calm me down?´´ the medic sweated while Rick laughed.

``Hey sir, where did you get this armor? I never seem it before, is it from a rare monster?´´ a voice spoke close to Rick he looked at the sides but saw nothing. ``Down here! Meow!´´ the voice spoke again, Rick looked down and finally noticed the small kitty.``No, it is from a Gypceros, a very common one´´ he kneeled, ``Can you tell me about it?´´ the kitty asked. ``Well…it is as tall as that tent, has a rubber tail, wings and a crystal stone on its head that makes a blinding light when…´´ the rubber knight explained to the cat. The feline heard every detail with curiosity, if one asked the humanoid cat about the creature, it would describe itwith the very same words.

``Sir, here it is´´ a group of five cats raised the hunting horn from the ground and brought to Elvis. ``How can you produce sound with it?´´ a cat asked. ``How you discovered it was a hunting horn and not a hammer?´´ the hunter asked, ``We saw the interior and noticed some odd things, the format and everything. It was made to let an air current pass through. If you don´t blow with your mouth, how you do it?´´ other cat asked. ``Well…I just move it on specific positions´´ Elvis answered feeling quite ashamed, he didn´t really know how it worked, just that it worked. Derek exited the tent with his helm on the head, ``We discussed about Yoru and the chief said she was here six days ago and had a map. It is probable that she is heading to the swamp. We still have a chance to find her´´ the red hunter turned to the leader of the cats, ``Thank you for the information, if there is any way to repay you…´´ Derek said, ``Just make sure she is safe, that´s enough´´ Gray waved his pawn. ``Okay, let´s go´´ the red hunter motioned to his friends to follow him, this was going to be a long day.


	6. Mission Complete

Yoru fell on her knees, had reached the frontier of the swamp. The ground was solid, still dry but soon it would become a mess of mud. It was dusk, the sun was setting on the horizon and a cold breeze was flowing through the huntress´ armor. She was lucky, the cool drink the chief cat gave her was enough to reach this place and no monster attacked her on the way. But, for every creature in the world, the night was another world and the swamp was no different. More creatures lurked in the night and without company or good sight it would be hard to detect a monster in the darkness. Right now, however, Yoru was content with what she had achieved and the new possibilities the weapon brought. ``I better find shelter inside a cave, it rains a lot at night…´´ the huntress mumbled stretching her arms and then grabbed the heavy sword again, she would need a pretty good night to regain her strength and relax her muscles. Every fiber of her arms was tired and stirred, yet she had to carry the weapon along for a bit more. Gray was right, anyone would be extremely exhausted just carrying this blade, she had to make several pauses along the way to rest and the fact she had a limited time to reach the swamp made the pauses even more precious.

**(Old Desert)**

Elvis stopped walking and looked back, the sun was setting and the sky was a mixture of red and orange. ``We better make a camp´´ he said to the others, ``Why? There is still light and its colder´´ Rick argued, `` Are you mad?! At night the desert is cold, very VERY COLD´´ the medic answered. ``We can´t stop now, the sword made a clear trail and we might lose it by morning´´ Derek kept walking, forcing the duo to follow. ``How cold it is?´´ Rick asked, ``So cold you need a hot drink to keep yourself warm´´ the other hunter answered. `` Did we bring any?´´ the rubber knight asked, ``I spent mine returning to the village, didn´t have time to buy more. And you?´´ he asked. ``Spent mine on the Old Swamp on the way back´´ Rick answered. Derek stopped walking, he looked at the trail, at the sun and then back at the trail. ``What happened?´´ Rick asked coming closer to his friend, `I am thinking´´ the red hunter answered rubbing his chin. ``What´s the probability that it will rain at the Swanp?´´ Derek asked his companions, ``Very high´´ Rick answered, ``And how do you know this?´´ Elvis asked quite surprised that Rick knew something useful, ``I hunted many Gypceros there, I know how that wet place works´´ the rubber knight answered. ``So she is going to search for a place to stay, right?´´ the red knight asked. ``Yeah, but…´´ Rick stopped, ``But what?´´ Derek insisted. ``_Do I tell him or not? Man! I want to rest but if he finds out I am dead´´_ the rubber knight tensed.

``So…?´´ the leader turned back and crossed his arms, ``To hell with it!´´ Rick rubbed his head in anguish, ``What´s wrong with you?!´´ Elvis shouted startled. The rubber knight groaned and then sighed, ``At night, many fungus create a toxin that if in contact with water, creates a poisonous mist. Since the area is already flooded, much of the swamp will be covered.´´ Rick answered, the medic hunter understood why the man was having a hard time. ``This means that…´´ Derek´s eyes widened, ``I hope she finds a safe place´´ Elvis spoke, ``Or lots and lots of antidote´´ Rick completed.

**(Old Swamp)**

Coughing, coughing and more coughing. When someone says the forest is another world at night, they should exchange the world "forest" with "swamp". Murky, wet and with a fog veil during the day and mostly dry and poisonous during night. What caused such change in this place? This was something the huntress couldn´t answer. It has been three hours since the sun has fully set and half an hour since the rain stopped. The air was humid and so many poison filled fogs sprouted around the place.

Yoru used one of her tatters of clothing and tied it around her head to act as a mask, but this wasn´t the only problem. Visibility was very poor, she could barely see three meters far with the purple mist around her and the poison was slowly entering her mask. To slow down the poisoning process, she took deep breaths and then held the air the most she could before moving into another fog filled area, but sometimes it took several minutes to reach another open area. The huntress had inhaled too much mist by now and the toxin was already taking effect.

Fortunately, the mushrooms that lived around the Swamp produced weak toxins which takes several hours to fully kill a person. On the other side, Yoru had to stay the entire night in this place, meaning that she HAD to find an antidote herb before morning. This meant she had to search the herb and this means going through the poisonous fog several times. Then, she had to search for a dry place, maybe a cave, and finally consume the antidote herb. Even so, though not known to the huntress, a common antidote should be mixed with a blue mushroom(a catalyst) to avoid the possibility of the herb not functioning as intended. ``I need to *cough* find that herb *cough*…´´ she said under her "mask".

Meanwhile, the trio of hunters reached the borders of the swamp. They were greeted by a dense fog that stood on their way. ``This is weird´´ Derek said looking at the sides, ``I never saw something like this, even at night´´ Rick rubbed his chin. ``What do we do? We can´t enter the fog without poisoning ourselves´´ Elvis remarked, ``I will go, alone´´ Rick said abruptly making the other hunters turn their attention to the rubber knight. ``You can´t go there, you will die before finding her´´ Derek argued, ``And you don´t even have herbs with you´´ Elvis added. ``It is MY fault she fled the village, it is my responsibility to bring her back´´ the rubber knight answered. ``Will alone won´t save you! It is also …´´ Derek argued but his rival interrupted him, ``Stop blaming yourself!´´ Rick shouted pointing his indicator finger at his friend, ``Besides, it was because of your will alone that we crossed the swamp, the desert and searched the entire jungle for three months! If it isn´t will alone that moved you, what is it?!´´ Rick shouted.

Derek was left speechless, his mouth slightly open. ``But still, you won´t survive the poison´´ Elvis said, Rick turned to the hunter. ``I have been poisoned several times in my life, I kinda of created a little resistance against toxins and that's includes the poisonous mushrooms. With luck, my body will resist several minutes before I get infected and despite the poor visibility, I think I can find my way to an area where I know there are blue herbs´´ the rubber knight explained. ``But still, there must be something we can do´´ Elvis protested since the red hunter was still speechless. ``Do you know a song that boosts resistance against poison?´´ Rick asked, ``Yes, but it is very long and only lasts ten minutes. It just boosts your resistance, it doesn´t mean you are immune ´´ Elvis answered. ``Good enough for me, start playing it´´ the rubber knight smiled under his helm, even though his friend couldn´t see it. ``Are you sure about this?´´ Derek finally spoke, ``Of course I am!´´ Rick moved his arms, warming up as Elvis moved his hunting horn in different positions, playing a bellowing song. ``Elvis, can´t you play the horn while we are inside the swamp?´´ Derek asked, ``Do you really think I will be able to hold this thing upwards for an hour or so?´´ Elvis grunted moving the weapon to a diagonal position. Derek looked at the man, he moved the horn to a new position after a few seconds several, it was clear that even with his strength Elvis couldn´t do that for extended periods of time(not considering the ill effects of the poison).

``I am finished´´ Elvis said breathing heavily, the hardest wasn´t the song length but the many movements he had to do with the horn. ``Okay, see you later´´ Rick waved as he rushed towards the fog, ``Do came back alive, your fool!´´ Derek shouted as his rival disappeared through the mist. After a few moments of silence a thought crossed Elvis´ mind, ``What we do now?´´ he asked the red hunter. Derek grabbed a whetstone from a pouch attached on his belt and proceeded to sharp his greatsword. ``We wait for their return, we should mount the camp meanwhile´´ the red hunter answered. ``Now that I think about it, Rick was carrying the backpack with the tent´´ Elvis said tense. ``Oh no, that fool! That is what we get when we rush things!´´ Derek looked at purple fog.

**(One hour later)**

Yoru sat on the rocky ground of a cave, she coughed a lot. ``_Why it always have to be a cave?´´_ she thought. An air current came from inside the cave, keeping the poisonous fog outside and since the place was dry no fungus could be found. Her eyes weighed like a Lao Shan Lung and her body tingled in an odd way. ``Maybe just a little rest…´´ she mumbled as she let the sword on the wall and closed her eyes. The huntress felt her body getting hotter, probably because of a fever but she didn´t care about it, she needed rest to continue her journey, after all…

Someone shook her body gently, Yoru mumbled , the same person shook again but this time stronger, no result. ``Wake up!´´ the person shouted, the huntress felt something hit her cheek and she finally opened her eyes. A man wearing a large helm with the visor up greeted her as she became aware of her surroundings. The hunter worn a large purple armor and a hammer and a backpack could be spotted on his back. ``Who are you and why did you hit me?!´´ Yoru shouted feeling a small boost of adrenaline before coughing again. ``Good, you are still alive´´ the man sighed walking back and searching for something on his backpack. Feeling uneasy by the lack of answer, Yoru grabbed the hilt of the sword and used it as support, her eyes were narrowed as she prepared to lift the blade. ``Whoa! I am not a monster, you know?!´´ Rick said tense waving his arms, ``Who are you? Tell me!´´ she insisted. ``Rick! My name is Rick! Can you please let that sword alone?´´ the rubber knight asked, ``Derek sent you to bring me back, didn´t he?!´´ she shouted at the man. ``Well, yeah. He is…´´´Rck stopped when he saw Yoru holding the sword with both hands and pointing at his neck, her hands trembled with effort since the blade was too heavy and her breaths were heavy and irregular. Rick noticed the white eye and wounded shoulder. ``You won´t take me back! No after everything he forced me to do!´´ Yoru shouted but then started coughing, it got worse and she let the sword fall on the ground. Rick watched as the huntress fell on her knees and coughed more.

``I brought antidote herbs. Here, take them´´ Rick said grabbing a bunch from his backpack, he found them after some time searching through the fog and even used a few to test and cure himself. Yoru looked disgusted at the hand, her eyes were weary and tired. ``I refuse your mercy´´ she turned her head to the side. ``Eat them for heaven´s sake! If you don´t, you will die!´´ the rubber knight insisted. ``I don´t care!´´ she answered staring at he man. ``What are trying to accomplish?! If you don´t accept my help you…´´ Rick started, ``…I will never be strong enough to return!´´ Yoru finished. ``What?´´ Rick asked surprised. ``If I return, they will laugh at me! Dam Derek for lying to me!´´ she coughed, ``Dam it all the kelbi in the world!´´ the huntress finished holding her belly.

Rick gasped, is that how she felt towards his friend? All this hatred focused on an innocent? Heavens, why did he had to open his mouth in that fateful day? If he wasn´t out searching in the jungle, he could have stopped the huntress. All this time, while the others lived inside Kokoto, with warm food, bed, home and friends she fought monsters alone, day and night, hunted her own food and resisted until now. All this happened because of a simple commentary and the influence of a bastard 6 star hunter. When he returns to the village, Ignavus will taste his wrath. Noticing the huntress debilitated state, Rick debated on what he would say to make Yoru eat the herbs.

``I am Derek´s friend. At the same day he found you, he sent me to the jungle to investigate what kind of monster attacked you. If you eat the herbs, I will tell what I discovered´´ Rick answered. "_Well…that is a nice argument" _he thought proudly of himself. Yoru blinked many times, she remembered Derek mentioning he sent a friend to investigate, but was he telling the truth at the time? Wasn´t he the one who spread the lies about her near death experience? Rick claims he is his friend , was that true? There is only one way to find out.

``Fine…´´ she said irritated as she grabbed the bunch of blue herbs, ``But if I discover you are lying, I will hunt you down to the ends of the world and tear you limb from limb´´ Yoru stared at Rick with a death glare before munching the herbs. _``She is scary´´_ Rick trembled.


	7. Retribution

``And that´s what happened´´ Rick said, a bit of fear in his voice. He was sat on a rock while the huntress was sat on another one in the opposite side. Yoru closed her eyes and pondered about what the hunter said leaving the former afraid of a burst of rage from the huntress. After some minutes thinking she finally opened her eyes, a frown crossed her face. ``I can´t decide´´ she said staring at the man. ``About what?´´ Rick asked. ``If I should cut your eye or thank you for saving me´´ Yoru answered, her frown deepening. ``It wasn´t my intention´´ he argued, ``But I am blind nonetheless and nothing in the world can change that´´ she answered placing her hand over her blind eye. ``I can do something to compensate´´ Rick commented, ``And what you can do?´´ the huntress asked, ``Well…I could help you hunt the creature that injured you´´ the rubber knight answered. ``Thanks for the generosity but…I want to kill it alone. It could have killed me but it didn´t. I want a rematch´´ the huntress answered looking at her sword on the wall. ``But that sword, it is too heavy!´´ she complained, ``I can help you with that´´ Rick smiled.

``You can?´´ Yoru asked curious, ``Yeah, my specialty it´s the hammer, like that one´´ he pointed to his black iron hammer on the wall and proceeded to grab it. Rick breathed deeply and then moved the giant weapon, he smashed the ground twice and then spun delivering a diagonal strike in the air. ``You see? I can train you to be stronger so you can use large weapons´´ he asked smiling as he put the weapon on the ground, ``Can I take a look?´´ Yoru asked and the hunter handed her his weapon. The huntress put the weapon on her lap, grabbed the hilt with both hands and grunted as she raised it on the air before putting it down. ``It is as heavy as the sword´´ she commented in awe, ``Of course it is hea…what?!´´ Rick blinked sometimes. ``What´s wrong?´´ Yoru asked confused, ``You said it´s as heavy as the sword?´´ he asked. ``Yeah´´ Yoru said grabbing the sword with both hands and offering it to Rick. The hunter grabbed the hilt with both hands, ``Be prepared´´ she said and then opened her hands. Rick suddenly felt the weight of the weapon, his back arched down and for a moment and it looked like he would fall. Gathering all his might Rick managed to hold the sword with both hands on a traditional greatsword stance, where the user kept the blade at a diagonal angle.

``You are really strong!´´ Yoru commented amazed, ``This isn´t…a longsword…this…is…ah!´´ Rick let the tip of the blade fall on the ground, he was exhausted. ``Are you okay? Gray said no one could use it without getting tired, but I know I can do it´´ Yoru said. ``Kiddo…that longsword weighs more than it should be. It weighs as much as a greatsword, if not more. But there is something off,I can´t explain what, maybe Derek knows more´´ Rick sat on the ground, taking deep breaths. ``I don´t know if it is even possible to master such monster, but I can train you to be stronger, that´s for sure´´ the hunter commented. ``That´s fair´´ Yoru said, ``But you will have to return to the village. Derek is worried sick about you and blames himself for you incident. Besides, you need better armor to survive out there, if you had a helm that covered your face you would still have your eyesight´´ he commented. ``Really?´´ Yoru asked, ``Yes, monster generally have fangs and claws that can cut through common iron and scales that are harder than stone. That´s why we use their materials to build equipment´´ Rick said.

Yoru looked at her wounded shoulder, a hint of sadness on her eyes. She cursed her weak armor that didn´t protect her during the event with that creature and its pack, yet something inside her told that what Rick suggested was wrong. ``But that´s not fair, you are borrowing other creature´s qualities´´ she protested, ``And their weakness. My armor, for example, is resistant to electric attacks but also very weak against fire. Besides, we earn them by slaying a monster and carving its remains so we have the right to wear their hide´´ the hunter answered. ``So, will you return to Kokoto?´´ Rick asked again. ``I need to forgive Derek…so yes. I will return´´ she answered, the hunter sighed. ``Now all we have to do is to wait for the morning´´ Rick said throwing his large backpack on the ground, ``Why?´´ Yoru asked, ``The entire area is covered with poison, we can´t go back to the others until it dissipates´´ the hunter said opening his backpack. ``Oops…´´ Rick murmured looking at the inside, ``What? Did you forget your tent?´´ Yoru asked dragging the sword to the wall. ``No, I brought two. The problem is…The second one belongs to Derek´´ the hunter rubbed his head.

**(Desert Border)**

``Well, at least we don´t need to sleep together again´´ Elvis shrugged at the ever pacing red hunter. They have been waiting for almost an hour now and no trace of the huntress or the rubber knight. Both hunters had taken their helmet off and put on the ground so they could breath better. Derek stopped walking, he sighed deeply, ``When we return to Kokoto, do never speak of this again´´ he said to the medic hunter. ``Alright´´ Elvis answered sitting on the ground, ``Thinking about it…It is better this way´´ Derek said, ``Why do you say that?´´ the other hunter asked. ``They can sleep comfortably at least´´ Derek answered, ``But what about us?´´ Elvis asked looking at the fog. ``We can´t leave this place or they won´t find us when they return but there are no materials or shelters here, hum…´´ the red hunter checked the surroundings. ``What if we go around the mist and see if we can find something useful? We can leave rock arrows on the ground to indicate where we have gone´´ Elvis suggested throwing a small rick on the sky and then catching it up. ``That´s not a bad idea´´ the red hunter said as he searched the ground for the said mineral.

**(Old Swamp-Cave)**

``What do you mean this is his tent?´´ Yoru grabbed Rick´s shoulders and stared at his eyes. ``I was helping out with the equipment so I kinda of forgot to take off his tent´´ the rubber knight admitted. ``And what about Elvis, didn´t he have one?´´ the huntress asked, ``We left with haste when we met him and discovered about you. So we only packed a handful of things, in other words, just two tents ´´ the rubber knight answered. Yoru narrowed her eyes before letting the man go, she turned to face the other side. ``I hate you´´ she looked at him with a dark expression that would make even a dragon scared. ``You get mad pretty easily you know it? About Derek, he can manage without a tent, he is my rival, after all´´ Rick commented trying to calm the huntress. Yoru gritted her teeth trying to contain her anger before she finally sighed. ``I will explore the other side of the cave, there is an air current so maybe there is an exit to an open area´´ she said grabbing her deformed shield that was inside her bag, the sword wouldn´t be useful if she couldn´t handle it. ``You stay here and watch the sword´´ Yoru demanded, ``Why are you giving me orders? It is not like you are…´´ the huntress glared at him, emanating killing intent. ``As you command!´´ the rubber knight put his hand on his forehand the fastest he could. Rick watched as the huntress disappeared into the depths of the cave, when she was fully out of sight he sighed relieved. ``Man! I wonder how she was when Derek first met her´´ the hunter said sitting on the ground.

Yoru kept walking forward despite the fact it was completely dark. While they were at the cave entrance moonlight could enter but now there wasn´t any source of light. Fortunately she had developed a very good night vision since she had to sleep inside caves during rainfalls. With time, her eyes adapted to small amounts of light to the point she could see the shape of the walls and other bigger things and even medium objects with some effort. A torch would be the best option, but the huntress wanted to be alone and so didn´t even ask Rick if he brought any.

Yoru discovered that the best way to calm down was to breath deeply and walk alone in a dark place to reorganize her thoughts. The lack of sound, people and any other thing that provoked her was like heaven and nothing was better to calm her nerves and rest a bit.

_``That idiot! I want to bring the tent back to Derek but that´s impossible now, why I had to eat all the herbs?! Derek can be in danger and the desert border have nothing to give him shelter!´´ _Yoru thought angry, ```_Wait…am I worried about him? For months I hated him but now I am concerned about his well being? That´s funny hahaha…I really need to apologize, he is innocent, after all…His friend, this monkey of a man, is really stupid. Strong, no doubt, but how he is stupid! I bet he forgot to bring other things with him´´ _the air current got stronger, interruption the huntress thoughts. ``_I must be near the exit, then why it is still dark? Is that thing moving?´´ _she stopped and immediately crouched. Yoru focused on the large shade on the other side, it looked that it was moving up and down in a constant rhythm. The huntress spotted something rectangular closer, as she concentrated more and more she noticed a small protuberance on the tip of the rectangle and some odd extensions on the other side. Two long shades were under the odd rectangle and finally a long form on the other side. ``That´s a…a…´´she murmured taking a step back, unfortunately she stepped on a rock and fell on the ground, the armor clanked with the impact.

Two blue eye dots appeared on the shadows, they floated upwards as the creature awakened from its slumber. Two forms that the huntress recognized as wings folded on the creature´s back as four powerful legs stood firmly on the ground. The monster roared creating a powerful gust of wind that launched the huntress meters away. Yoru tried to raise from the ground the fastest she could but failed, the dragon walked slowy towards her. Finally managing to stand up she started to run towards the exit, the dragon started its pursuit. ``DRAGON!´´the huntress shouted as the creature followed right behind.

Rick felt the change on the air current, it became stronger in just a few seconds and then a roar foreign to him. ``Could that be…´´ he said grabbing his hammer on the wall, the confirmation came moments after. ``DRAGON!´´ he heard the huntress voice echoing through the tunnel and soon the huntress appeared with the said creature behind. . Instead of running, the hunter prepared his hammer to strike when the dragon came into reach. ``Bring him to me!´´ he shouted to the fleeing huntress as the duo neared the cave´s exit. Yoru acknowledged the plan and ran even faster to escape the dragon´s mouth. She jumped into the ground when she passed Rick, the hunter delivered a powerful to the dragon´s head, making it turn to the side, stunned. ``Run!´´ he grabbed Yoru´s arm and forced her to stand, together they exited the cave as the dragon recovered.

Rick stopped and Yoru bumped on his back. The poisonous fog filled the entire area around them except for the cave, if they wanted to flee the wrath of the dragon they would certainly be poisoned and without antidote, they would die. ``Dam it!´´ Rick turned to face the cave, the dragon walked from the darkness. ``What do I do? My sword is inside the cave´´ the huntress said at Rick´s side. ``Stand back, let me take care of him!´´ the man put an arm in front of the huntress. The truth was, Rick was no match for the dragon, even with all his experience and skill the beast was something he couldn´t match in combat. But they had no escape, the poisonous fog that could occult them but eventually kill them or the dragon that could easily break his armor with a single swipe of its claw. Rick heard the dragons preferred to survive than to fight to the death, so with a lot of luck, he could make the dragon fly away.

The dragon stood magnificently at the cave´s entrance, his silver scales shining brightly on the night, arched legs that were rather small but nonetheless powerful, wide wings that could cover a chariot and a long tail almost the size of the body. ``What kind of dragon is he? His roar knocked me away!´´ the huntress asked, ``He is Kushala Daora, dragon of wind, lord of storms. But he should be dead!´´ Rick said tense, the dragon was still immobile. Kushala Daora was a mighty dragon, his raw power alone was enough to cause snowstorms and rain in a large area and his wind breath was so strong that could pierce armor. However, he should be dead, Ignavus had killed him, or so he claimed. The hunter even had an armor created with the creature´s scales, then why the same being stood in front of them now?

Kushala stood on his hind legs and roared before standing on all four again A gust of wind emanated from his body, surrounding him like a protective shield. He roared again, an even stronger wind emanated from his body in all directions. ``Whoa!´´ Rick said as he and Yoru covered their faces with their arms. When the wind stopped, Rick looked around, all the poisonous fog had dissipated. ``Incredible…that´s the power of a dragon…´´ the huntress commented struck in awe. The dragon stood firm on the ground, his head lowered and close to the ground. The area revealed to be a plain terrain, the trees had grow far away from the cave because the ground was rock solid while the rest of the place was covered with wet mud-covered earth. ``What do we do? We can run now…´´ Yoru mumbled, ``You run and find the others, I will distract him´´ the hunter answered. ``I won´t leave you alone. You saved my life once, I will…´´ she argued, ``He is faster than any of us, we can´t outrun him. You are carrying less weight than me´´ Rick said. ``Now, go!´´ he shouted running towards the dragon, Kushala charged with his mouth open. Yoru stood still for a second before she turned to run, she cursed as she saw the hunter dodge the dragon´s charge with a row.

Rick tried to strike the creature´s side but the powerful wind shield knocked him to the ground. Kushala looked at the fleeing huntress, deciding if he should go after her or kill the man first. Rick tried to strike the creature again but the dragon moved his tail like a whip and launched the man into the ground once again. `` Ugh!´´ the hunter felt his bones tremble with the impact, another strike and his bones would probably be broken. Kushala turned to face the hunter, he raised on his hind legs in an attempt to stomp the man with his paws but Rick rolled to the side with his hammer. Rick managed to stand up but the creature breathed a powerful gust of wind, forcing the man to jump out of the way.

Meanwhile, Yoru kept running. She didn´t know where Elvis and Derek where, but still kept running. ``You idiot! You didn´t tell me where they are!´´ she shouted while looking to the sides. Now that the fog had dissipated it was easier to see, but that didn´t mean easier to find someone. In contrast with the jungle, the Swamp had trees adapted to the wet environment and sprouted far from one another. But the place was vast and because the fog had obstructed her vision during her journey she hadn´t the minimal idea where she was. Yoru tripped on a rock and almost fell on the ground. ``What is this rock doing in the way?!´´ she bragged angry looking at behind. ``Wait…is this an arrow?´´ she noticed the rocks forming an arrow to the left towards a path between a group of tall leafless trees, two pair of footprints could be spotted on the mud covered ground. ``Now, they are clever´´ she said rushing into the path.

``It is weird how the fog dissipated, don´t you think?´´ Elvis asked as he looked at the sides, ``Its like something pushed it away´´ Derek agreed searching the opposite way. Since the fog has vanished, the duo decided to search for Yoru and Rick. They were on a long path that could have been a trail used by kelbi or aptonoths, it was wide enough to up to three people walk side by side and had trees that formed a crude camouflage against predators(or a place for the predators to hide). ``Hey! Stop!´´ a female voice shouted from behind, Derek immediately turned hoping it was who he thought it was. ``Yoru!´´ the red hunter spotted the huntress running towards him and so hurried to meet her, Elvis noticed Rick wasn´t with her. Yoru stopped, tired from running, her hands were holding her knees and she was breathing heavily from the effort. ``Oh, thank god you are okay!´´ Derek was going to hug the huntress but she raised her head with haste. ``Now its not the time, uff! Rick is, ah!...fighting…. Kushala!´´ she shouted at him.

``What?! This is impossi-ouch!´´ Elvis received a punch in the face from the huntress, she didn´t even care the pain she felt by punching a metal helm. ``A silver dragon breathing wind! ´´she said shaking her hand to alleviate the pain. Derek didn´t doubt her, he was suspicious of Ignavus claims for a long time. ``Where are them?´´ he asked, ``Follow me!´´ the huntress motioned with her hand and went back the way she came. Elvis looked at Derek, the red hunter shook his head up and down and so they went after her.

Rick was under the dragon´s front legs, his hammer was out of reach somewhere on the battlefield and his helm was lost during the battle when he was clawed to the face. Many cracks could be seen on the ground, a sign that indicated where the dragon shot air blasts and still, not a single crack could be spotted on the beast´s hide. The hunter looked at the dragon in the eyes, Kushala was preparing an air blast as the killing blow, ``_They aren´t six stars for nothing, hehehe. I hope she found them´´ _Rick closed the eyes.

A blowing sound echoed through the swamp, distracting the elder dragon. Far away Elvis played his hunting horn with Yoru at his side while Derek charged with his sword still on the back. The hunter grabbed the greatsword when he came into range and used the momentum to deliver a downward slash to the exposed side of the dragon. Kushala jumped and hovered in the air, flapping his metal wings to gain height. Rick cringed with fear, the blade hit the ground just inches from his feet. ``Are you trying to cut me or him?!´´ the rubber knight bragged getting up, Yoru and Elvis arrived a few moments later. ``What are you doing here?! You have to stay away!´´ Derek said when he saw the weaponless huntress, ``Look out!´´ Elvis warned pointing to the sky, the silver dragon was diving using his wind powers to boost his own speed.

Kushala crashed into the ground, creating a powerful wind wave that launched all the hunters to the ground, the impact was so strong that took the air from their lungs. The dragon jumped at Elvis that rolled to the side, barely dodging the beast´s claws. Rick spotted his hammer just a few meters away, he started to crawl towards it. Derek jumped with his sword raised to cut the tail but instead was it by it. Yoru held her cringed in pain, her armor didn´t give much protection against the wind wave. ``Are you okay?!´´ Derek arrived to help, he was holding the sword with one hand and his own stomach with the other. ``It hurts! It hurts!´´ she shouted with eyes closed, Derek grabbed a bunch of herbs in his pouch, the potions were on the backpack Rick had taken. ``Hurry, eat it!´´ he offered to the huntress while looking at the side to check the battle, with a shaking hand the huntress grabbed the medicine and stuffed it on her mouth, biting furiously.

Meanwhile, Elvis pretended to hit the dragon with his hunting horn to give the others time to recover, he moved it from the left to the right and then downwards. ``I need help!´´ he screamed as he walked backwards. Rick ran to his aid and managed to deliver a blow to Kushala´s head since it was the only part slightly out of the wind barrier, stunning it. Elvis and and Rick exchanged glares and nodded, the wind dragon charged a wind blast and fired at the duo but they dodged to the sides. They stepped forward and moved their weapons horizontally, Rick from the left and Elvis from the right, hitting Kushala´s head from both sides. The Lord of Storms stepped back roaring in pain and forcing the duo to let their weapons fall on the ground to cover their ears. ``Argh! My ears!´´ they shouted closing their eyes. Taking the opportunity Kushala dashed and hammed Rick with his head, sending the hunter flying and then spun his tail, hitting Elvis. The elder dragon jumped and hovered in the air, looking from a hunter to another one.

Derek saw the dragon looking at him, he took a look at Yoru, she was trying to get up but her arms couldn´t support her weight yet, ``The herb´s effect should be working right now, why it didn´t heal yet?´´ he thought looking back at the dragon. The red hunter noticed Kushala was charging a wind blast, he held his greatsword with both hands and ran towards the beast the fastest he could. The wind dragon fired the blast at the ground, but when it touched the surface the trajectory changed to go forward, destroying the ground on the way. Derek stopped running, turned the sword to the left and then moved it to be in a diagonal position. It formed an improvised shield where he held the hilt with the right hand and the blade´s surface with the other hand. The blast hit the greatsword like a group of bulfangos were pushing it. Derek jumped back to avoid falling on his back and so was dragged along with the wind.

Yoru watched the red hunter resist the pressure, he was being dragged back but still kept the sword on the same position. And then the worst happened: Kushala fired a second wind blast at Derek. The hunter was sent flying, his greatsword spun on the air several times before it landed vertically on the ground. The huntress glanced at the others, Rick and Elvis were unconscious and Derek wasn´t moving. She used her right arm to support her weight, she moved her body to the side to stand on all four limbs, sweat fell from her face. ``I must…get the sword…´´ she murmured gritting her teeth in agony, the herbs weren´t enough to fully heal her. She managed to stand on her knees and then on her feet, ``Ahrg!´´ she screamed as she forced her arms to push the ground and lift her body from the ground. Kushala landed at the cave´s entrance, he roared as if taunting the huntress to fight him. ``I won´t let you…kill…my friends!´´ she screamed furiously at the dragon, an abnormal rage on her good eye. She ran towards the cave, mustering all her strength in her legs as the dragon prepared to fire a wind blast.

Yoru jumped to the side and continued to run, the dragon breathed again and again but the huntress dodged every blast. When she reached the dragon the beast tried to hit her with his claws but she jumped back and ran inside the cave as the dragon tried to claw her once more. Yoru saw the sword on the ground, she rolled to get it and then turned to charge at Kushala. In her state of fury, she dragged the sword across the ground screaming at the beast with all the power of her lungs. The wind dragon jumped back to gain space, but the huntress approached so fast that the moment the dragon landed she was already in strike range. She moved the sword upwards ``This is for Rick!´´ she shouted cutting the exposed face of Kushala. The blade few on the ground with a thud, ``This is for Elvis!´´ Yoru screamed again as she slowy spun her body to hit the dragon again, this time at the side. Using the momentum she raised the sword with both hands. ``And this is for Derek!´´ she delivered a vertical slash, the blade connected with the dragon´s horn, breaking it apart.

Kushala stood on his hind legs and then fell to the side, moving up and down roaring in pain, several silver fragments of his hide laid on the ground. Yoru couldn´t hold the sword anymore, she fell on her back with the sword at the side, all the adrenaline was spent in the last three slashes. The huntress felt her arms´s muscles burn due to the excessive force she used and her legs tingled in a funny way. Yoru´s eyes widened with the grim realization that the creature was still much alive, all her comrades were still on the ground and she was in no condition to even lift a finger. Kushala stood up, recovered from his moment of pain, the wind barrier was gone and scars filled the beast´s face. Deciding to not endanger his well being anymore, the wind dragon roared one last time before he jumped in the air and started to fly upwards. The huntress smiled at the sigh, ``You coward!´´ she teased with her blind eye closed.

``Is everyone okay?!´´ she shouted at the sky, her belly hurt immediately and she gritted her teeth in pain, her companions answered with a chorus of grunts and some swearing as they laid on the ground. ``At least isn´t…´´ Rick started, ``Shut up! Ahg!´´ Elvis argued, the last thing they needed now was a poisonous fog.


	8. Home sweet home

Yoru grunted, she opened her eyes with a muffled scream, she was still alive. Fear overcame her, she could see only darkness . A hand touched her chestplate keeping her down, ``Stay calm´´ a familiar voice spoke and soon she saw the helmless face of Derek. ``Where are we?´´ she asked tired, ``Inside the cave, Elvis and Rick are lighting a bonfire´´ he answered pointing to the side, Elvis and Rick were bragging on how they would light it, with stones or sticks. Yoru chuckled, ``Your rival isn´t the smartest hunter , you know?´´ she asked. ``Hey I heard that!´´ Rick shouted turning his attention from the pile of sticks, ``No he isn´t…But he is still my friend nonetheless´´ Derek answered. ``What happened after Kushala fled?´´ the huntress questioned trying to get up but the red hunter pulled her back. ``You are wounded´´ he adverted, ``Really? I didn´t know that´´ she answered sarcastically.

``No, really. Elvis said it was incredible your bones weren´t shattered to pieces, however, the bones of your arms and legs were displaced, we had to use a sedative so you wouldn´t wake up as we put them back to their original positions´´ the red hunter told, ``Also, many of your muscles were swollen so we gave you many of our potions to heal them. You should be fine by tomorrow, at least that was what Elvis said and he is the one that knows better about human body. I am glad your shoulder didn´t get infected, we also healed it the best we could but it should that some days to totally heal´´ Derek finished. ``So in other words, you all saved me again´´ she smiled, ``No, you are the one who saved us. You stood against the lord of storms alone and drove him away. If it weren´t for you, we would be dead by now´´ Derek admitted. ``Each one of you saved me before, I had to do the same sooner or later´´ Yoru smiled but it soon faded. ``And Derek…´´ she murmured, Rick and Elvis had stopped arguing to see the conversation unfold.

``…sorry for shouting at you´´ she looked down at her own body, ``No, its fine. It is all Ignavus´s fault´´ Derek answered waving his hand, he noticed her eyes were reflecting the moonlight. ``You are very kind´´ she said snorting, if she wasn´t a temperamental woman Rick would tease she was about to cry and so he decided to talk about something else. ``By the way, we have to report to Shen about that bastard´s lies, he didn´t kill the elder dragon´´ the rubber knight said, ``Fire!´´ Elvis said with joy as the bonfire burned with a bright yellow light, ``This isn´t fair, I wasn´t looking!´´ he bragged. The two grabbed each other in a rather goofy fight. ``What do you mean?´´ the huntress asked turning her head, ``Ignavus is a six star hunter, a top hunter in other words. He gained this rank by "defeating" the elder dragon Kushala Daora, but now I know his claims are false. His armor always seemed rusted, though Shen and the blacksmith could say that it was made of genuine dragon scales but I always doubted it. I recovered some fragments of scalesfrom the ground, so we have proof the dragon still roams alive´´ the red hunter answered.

``And what will happen to him?´´ she asked, ``Since this is an enormous lie, he can lose his hunting license and equipment forever or at least lose a rank and be prohibited to hunt for quite some time´´ the man answered with a hand on his chin. ``Serves him right!´´ Rick said as he struggled with Elvis, ``Take your filthy hand out of my mouth!´´ Elvis muffled pushing Rick´s chin. ``Stop both of you!´´ Derek shouted and the two stopped.`` What a lovely family!´´ Yoru said gleefully. ``You are in a good mood´´ Elvis said rubbing his mouth, ``I guess its because she is not angry anymore´´ Rick commented, ``Duh! That is obvious´´ Elvis retorted, ``No one asked you! They are in love but that doesn´t mean they can´t say it out loud´´ the rubber knight argued. ``We are not in love!´´ Derek and Yoru said in unison but the others laughed, ``For the first time I agree with you´´ Elvis said between laughs. ``When I recover you both will taste my wrath! Ugh!´´ the huntress held her belly and closed her eyes, the hunters shrunk in fear of retaliation.

**(Three days later)**

**(Kokoto Village-Tavern)**

Four figures reached the North Gate, their armors had several cracks on various places and judging by their expressions they have made a long journey. The two guards of the gate noticed the group and immediately grabbed their medic packs that were guarded close to their chairs. ``No, we are fine´´ the only woman of the group waved her hand, they noticed her peculiar untamed red hair. ``We need to meet Shen´´ the greatsword user said under his helm that had several cuts and missing scales. ``He is at his home´´ one of the guards said, the hunters nodded and then started a slow and tired walk to the elder´s house. ``Hey, what do you think that attacked them?´´ the same guard asked to his companion, ``I don´t know, but to cause such damage on a Rathalos armor…it must be a 5 star monster or something´´ the man said looking at the group, even as they walked small fragments of armor fell on the ground. ``Man, this armor was so hard to get´´ Rick complained, ``At least we are alive, the armors did their jobs´´ Elvis retorted. They discovered the worst way that a crumbling armor is very uncomfortable to use, especially during long journeys.

Shen was resting on a chair inside his house as he smoked a long pipe, someone knocked the door. ``Enter´´ he demanded and the door opened with a cracking noise, soon the four hunters entered the room. ``It seems you found her. Good, good…I was thinking in sending another rescue group after you´´ the elder said. ``What brings you here?´´ Shen asked smoking his pipe again, everyone´s expression darkened. ``Kushala is alive´´ Derek said in a dark serious tone making the elder choke. ``What?!´´ the elder asked, he saw shards of metal falling into the ground and the broken armor of the group, Rick had a resigned look on his face. ``Do you mean…´´ Shen couldn´t believe, ``We were attacked´´ Elvis said, ``And if it wasn´t for her, we would be dead´´ Rick said placing his hand on Yoru´s shoulder, ``It is still wounded!´´ she gritted her teeth, Rick hid behind Derek side fearing a rage outburst. ``Sorry!´´ he apologized.

``Do you have any proof?´´ Shen recovered partially from the shock, it wasn´t that he didn´t believe them, but such claim was a big new to digest and had several potential consequences to the village and a certain man. ``Yes we have´´ Yoru let the sword on the wall, she grabbed something inside her small pouch as she walked to the elder. She opened her hand revealing many shards of a silver material. The elder grabbed them with apprehension. ``These are silver scales, no…they are made of metal. There is only one creature with such shinny metallic skin…!´´ Shen rushed to a nearby bookshelf on the wall and grabbed a book. ``What are you searching for?´´ Yoru asked tilting her head to the side, ``I bought this book from a traveler merchant a few days ago. It is a record of new findings about monsters discovered by Jumbo´s hunters´´ the elder said turning the pages with haste, ``Here´´ he placed the open book on a table, everyone moved the chairs away and peeked at the content.

"_Discoveries about elder dragons_

_Discovery by:Mako_

_During a mission on the Snowfall Mountains, I climbed the highest mountain to mine some rare ores. When I reached the spot I noticed a lifeless form on the snow, observing the carcass I recognized it as the elder dragon Kushala Daora. But something was amiss…It was a rusted brown color with no flesh, bones or blood and there was a huge crack on the spine section. Maybe it is an old skin, like the snakes? Maybe since the dragon´s hide is metallic, it rusts sooner or later and the creatures has to change it(…)´´_

``So that´s why!´´ Rick pointed to the book as if it was a murderer. ``This explains why his armor is rusted…´´ Elvis pondered, ``I guess it is true then… I will call Ignavus, you can rest here for a bit, I know you four are tired´´ Shen exited with his cane. ``I will love to watch his reaction!´´ Yoru smirked, ``Me too´´ Rick agreed, ``Aren´t you being a little too vengeful?´´ Elvis asked surprised, Yoru looked at him with her blind eye. ``No, I´m not´´ she answered serious, ``So! Let´s go after him´´ she said with a mixture of mischief and joy in her voice, Rick followed her and Elvis looked at Rick. ``Can you really blame her?´´ the red hunter asked walking towards the open door, he noticed the longsword standing on the wall. ``Uh? She forgot the sword´´ he grabbed the hilt and tried to lift it, it was futile, ``What the hell? This sword is heavier than my Red Wing´´ the hunter referred to his greatsword. He grabbed his own sword and put it on the wall then grabbed the longsword again but couldn´t raise it past the horizontal position. ``Now I know why she only dragged the sword through the ground´´ the red hunter gasped for air as he put the sword back. ``If I am right, she spun the sword three times when she attacked Kushala and that alone dislocated her bones. So I don´t think a longsword user can even wield this properly´´ Elvis told rubbing his chin.

**(Tavern)**

Everyone was minding their own bussines inside the tavern, some hunters were chatting, others were choosing Jobs while some were having a drinking contest. Ignavus was leaning on a wall on the opposite side of the main saloom door. The doors opened with a slow and agonizing noise, a small figure stood on the entrance. Rumors started to spread across the place, ``Ignavus, I believe you have something to tell us´´ Shen said. ``Uh? I don´t think so´´ the man said lazily, he didn´t really had much respect for the man. `` Given some recent discoveries, I have the anguish to tell that you…lost your hunter license for a year and access to all armors and weapons crafted with monster parts´´ the elder said patiently, an outburst of talking filled the entire run. ``What?!´´ the bronze warrior shouted. ``Your claims of killing the elder dragon have proven to be false. In other words you cheated to reach this rank. Also, this lie almost caused the deaths of other hunters, since the beast is still alive. After the stipulated time, if you wish, you can start anew as a one star hunter ´´ Shen told, the other hunters practically screamed in a mix of confusion, hatred and indignation. ``Of course I killed Kushala! This armor! It proves my claims!´´ he screamed pointing to his armor.

``No it doesn´t. A recent discovery from Jumbo says that Kushala shed his skin from time to time, leaving it behind to rust in the Snowy Mountains. Also, there are reports of an attack to a group of hunters´´ the chief said. ``How someone disco-…who the hell said it was alive?!´´ the man looked at the sides, expecting someone to raise the hand just because he was a top hunter, no one did. The doors opened once again and two figures joined, ``Did we arrive in time? Where is he?´´ Yoru asked searching for the liar, she spotted him on the other side. ``You!´´ both pointed to each other, ``You are the noob!´´ Ignavus sweared, ``I killed a Gendrome with just a shield so shut up! You! On the other hand! Left a dragon pretty much alive!´´ she accused the other, the hunters just looked at her then to the hunter. ``You can´t prove it!´´ the bronze hunter argued, ``I have proof!´´ she raised her hand, she had the metal scales between her fingers. ``These are Kushala´s scales, if you give it to a blacksmith he will compare and say your armor is from the same material, but rusted´´ she smirked. `And these cracks were caused by the wind breath, there are two more hunters to support our claims´´ Rick joined the argument.

``This is a total bull-´´ Ignavus started but was interrupted, ``You are bullsh-´´ Rick covered the huntress mouth with his hand as he grabbed her, the huntress struggled to get free and attack the liar. ``What´s happening here?´´ Derek arrived with Elvis, ``Please a little help here!´´ his rival said as he tried to keep Yoru in his grasp, the other hunters were surprised by the amount of effort she was putting in. ``You have to calm down! Hitting him in the face won´t bring your eyesight back!´´ Derek argued as he helped to contain the huntress, ``I won´t hit him in the face! I will stab his eyes with his own finger! So let me out!´´ she screamed, Shen thought the only ones who could stop her were her friends. ``He will receive his deal of punishment, but not like this!´´ Rick said, but Yoru moved her head backwards hitting the man, Rick managed to keep holding despite the major headache. ``I almost died because of his lies! Three times!´´ she continued to shout. Seeing that there was no other choice, Derek made the only thing he knew could possibly calm the huntress, though he detested the outcome of it.

He turned her and slapped her face, everyone gasped at the act. Yoru stood still with her face turned to the side, ``You must understand! Rage and hatred alone won´t take you anywhere! If he wants, Shen can take your license as well, I am surprised he didn´t until now. There is one thing called justice in this world and its not "eye for eye, tooth for tooth"!´´ the red hunter said, when he finished he gasped for air. Yoru turned her face back at the hunter, her frown had disappeared and her eyes were wet. The huntress turned to Shen, she kneeled to face the elder in the eyes, ``I am sorry for the trouble…I am retiring now…´´ she murmured and then she got up. Yoru glanced one more time at Ignavus, the hunter had a surprised look that for a second turned into a sadistic smile, the red haired woman clenched her fists before she turned and walked towards the exit. She bumped into Derek before opening the doors, silence filled the room. ``I will go after her´´ the red hunter told opening the doors, ``Hahaha! She is only bark but no bite´´ the bronze hunter mocked but Shen coughed to call his attention. ``Should I remind you that you lost your license?´´ the elder asked, the "coin" fell and Ignavus´ face contorted in shock. ``But that´s not fair! You can only demote me to 5 stars, tops!´´ he argued. ``So the bastard admits he cheated. He lost his license?´´ Rick smiled, ``Actually, if you faked a dragon´s death, we can´t be sure how many other monsters you didn´t kill´´ Elvis explained.

``He is correct, your credibility has gone. You will have to attain all the ranks again and bring solid proof of your deeds. Consider this as a second chance´´ the elder said, ``And how will I live without payment for one year!?´´ the bronze hunter said. ``You can live at the Jungle! Yoru did that for three months´´ Rick joked, that called the attention of other hunters who thought of the possibility of someone living in that place with all the monster, the chances were slim. ``But we had to save her, twice´´ Elvis argued, ``In the Desert and Swamp, not in the jungle´´ Rick retorted, ``Yeah…you got a point´´ the "medic" hunter said. ``The village needs some fortifications against monsters, you can help by building and helping in the planning´´ the elder suggested waving his hand.

Yoru sat on a bench on the center of the village. It was an open circular area that was supposed to be the center of activity of Kokoto, there was a market of fruits and vegetables, a blacksmith with two attendants, a supply store and a small furniture store. ``Can I join you?´´ Derek asked walking towards the bench, ``Go away! I want to be alone…´´ the huntress´ voice wavered. ``But I just wanted-´´ the hunter was interrupted, ``I don´t want to hear your voice now! Leave me be!´´ the huntress hid her face with her hands. ``Can you give me one minute? Just one minute?´´ he asked placing his hand over her shoulder, ``It still hurts!´´ she bragged gritting her teeth. ``Sorry!´´ he backed a step, the woman seemed to have calmed after a few seconds. ``One minute´´ she muffled shaking her shoulder in agony, Derek sat at her side.

``I know you must be angry because what Ignavus done, but you can´t just kill him or worse´´ the man started, ``Fourty five seconds´´ the huntress said not looking at him, ``Shen worries a lot about our safety, I am sure he will do the right thing as the village´s chief´´ the red hunter told, ``Thirty seconds´´ the huntress continued. ``Rick told me you have anger issues, is that truth?´´ Derek asked, ``Ten seconds´´ was the answer. ``Maybe I can help you, if you are willing to´´ the red hunter finished. ``Zero, you have no more time´´ the huntress raised from the bench, ``I…will think about it´´ she half turned her head before walking away.

``Hey!´´ someone shouted from behind, the huntress continued to walk while the hunter looked back. ``You won´t believe it! Ignavus lost his license for a year!´´ Rick walked closer with a grin plastered on his face, ``And after this time, he will have to start with one star´´ Elvis joined, ``And lost access to all monster-made equipment he has´´ Rick finished. ``Woah! That´s some really harsh punishment´´ Derek said with an open mouth, ``Hey Yoru! Did you hear that?´´ the rubber knight asked loud, ``Leave me alone!´´ she shouted entering an alley. ``Give her some time, she said she will think about some things´´ the red hunter said, ``That reminds me of one thing, I have to pay her 2000 zen´´ Elvis said, ``Why?´´ Rick asked, ``When we met at the Desert, she had killed a Gendrome on her own, since that was part of my job I have to share part of the profit´´ the man said. ``I guess she could use the money to buy a new armor´´ Derek said looking at the alley the huntress had gone, ``We need to repair ours too, there is a shard of metal sticking into my-´´ Rick complained, ``I don´t need to know where it hurts, but yeah we need to bring them to the blacksmith´´ Elvis said walking away. ``See you around´´ he said goodbye as he walked towards his home leaving the rivals alone.

``You know?´´ Rick said sitting on the bench, ``What?´´ Derek asked, ``If Kushala has such power and he is just the lord of storms. What White Fatalis can do, if he is the GOD of the storms?´´ Rick asked, ``Well..I guess he can pretty much destroy the world´´ Derek answered. ``Then I should make a more resistant armor against lighting if someday I have to fight him´´ the rubber knight said. ``You are kidding right?´´ Derek told, ``No, your dream is to fight Crimsom Fatalis since you are a fire lover. So why can´t I dream to fight White Fatalis?´´ Rick asked. ``You just killed your first Khezu, don´t you think you have a long way ahead?´´ the red hunter asked, ``You too, you didn´t even kill a Silver Rathalos´´ Rick retorted, ``Because it´s a five star monster´´ Derek argued. ``Fair enough´´ Rick said, ``But what about Fatalis? The black one?´´ Rick looked at the sky, ``Our last records says he is stationed on an abandoned fortress, but they are centuries old. No one knows for sure where this fortress was located or if he travelled to somewhere else´´ Derek answered. ``I wonder what kind of bound these three monsters have´´ Rick told sighing, ``I just hope they never meet, or it will surely be the end of the world´´ Derek told shivering with the thought.

``Hey Derek´´ Rick called again, ``What now?´´ his friend asked. ``As a way of apologize I will help Yoru´s training so she can wield that so called longsword, but I am not familiar with swords. Can you give her some instructions?´´ the rubber knight asked, ``But I am only specialized on greatswords, not longswords. You will have to call someone else´´ Derek said. ``I don´t think a longsword master can help right now, the sword is too heavy to swing that fast´´ his rival said, ``I still don´t know how that thing can weight so much, maybe it's the material its made from? I can´t tell, I is too much rusted´´ Derek told and Rick waved his head. ``Maybe she can buy another sword from the blacksmith…´´ Rick suggested, ``I don´t think that´s a good idea´´ Derek answered, ``Why?´´ the rubber knight asked. ``Gray, the grey cat chief, told me the sword she was searching belonged to a lost monster hunter. He said it was so heavy that only the previous owner could manage it, he told that Yoru vowed to one day master the sword and return to their village to celebrate when that day comes. In other words, it is a promise´´ Derek explained. ``So she won´t give up?´´ Rick asked sighing, ``I guess not and I can´t even imagine her anger if we throw that thing on the trash´´ Derek said.

``But…maybe we can use the sword to our advantage´´ the red hunter proposed, ``How?´´ his friend said, ``If she can´t use that as a longsword, maybe she can use it as a greatsword. She can put all the weight into blows and slices like I do´´ the red hunter said. ``I tried to hold the sword when we were at the cave and I must say: it weights more than your greatsword. Yoru said it weighted as much as my hammer, but since the blade is long and the weight seems to be concentrated on the tip you tend to fall forward. But yeah, if she get´s stronger maybe she can at least use it like a greatsword´´ Rick agreed, ``So let´s do this way: You train her so she becomes stronger while I teach her the technique´´ Derek suggested offering his hand, ``Deal´´ Rick shook the hand.


	9. A new beggining

``Are you ready?´´ Rick asked to the huntress. They were on one of the training grounds of the village, an open quadrangular area with a rocky ground and fences to delimit the borders. A hut was built on the South part of the area where the entrance was placed, in that building there was a large collection of training tools and weapons.

Thanks to Elvis´s money Yoru was able to buy a new armor set identical to her last one and there were still 500 zen to spend on food. She was holding her longsword with both hands, the tip of the blade touched the ground. ``Ready´´ she answered, ``Uh…we won´t be using your sword for this training´´ Rick rubbed his head, ``Why not?´´ the huntress asked, ``I am going to train your muscles first, Derek will teach you the technique later when you can raise the sword without too much difficult. Can you place the sword on that hut over there?´´ the rubber knight asked pointing forward, the red haired woman murmured annoyed and went for the building, she opened the doors and left the weapon inside, she closed the doors with her foot.

``Ok, now I want you to wear these´´ Rick grabbed a weight that was laying on the ground, ``What are these things?´´ she asked coming back. ``Training weights, they can be wrapped around your arms and legs to make you stronger. You start with little and then we increase the weight when you feel that its becoming too easy. Now spread your legs´´ the man requested and Yoru obeyed, when he wrapped the tools around her legs ``How much this weighs?´´ shasked, ``Three pounds each´´ the rubber knight answered.

``They´re not so bad´´ Yoru said folding her hands upwards, a sweat drop fell from her face ``Hahaha! Who said it was just that? Your first exercise is to run around this camp three times in a row´´ Rick told with a grim, the dark look he received from the woman disintegrated his smile. Yoru sighed, she knew this was for the best. The huntress tried to make a step but felt that her leg was heavier than she previously thought, with a grunt she finished the step and grunted again when she moved her other leg. ``_Weird…she was a lot more energetic on the way back´´ _the trainer thought raising his brow, he wore only a shirt and pants since his armor was being repaired by the blacksmith . Yoru managed to walk normally but sweat fell from her face and she grunted with each step. ``You can just walk around the area if you think it is too hard´´ Rick said following her, she stopped and returned to walk at the same pace again but didn´t grunt this time.

``Come on! It isn´t that hard!´´ Rick said almost in a mocking tone, ``Shut up!´´ Yoru gritted her teeth, the weights were heavier than she expected, something was off. The huntress ran the fastest she could, which wasn´t much. She stopped a few meters later, gasping for air. ``This is ridicules! There is no way this weighs 3 pounds!´´ she protested, Rick walked closer. ``I know this must be hard but it isn´t that bad once you get the hang of-´´ he stopped talking, ``Why did you stop?´´ the huntress asked looking at him. ``Er…you are…right´´ he said hesitantly. ``…they are 30 pounds each´´ Rick wavered in anxiety, he finally noticed the "0" at the side, the numbers were worn off because the weighs were old. ``How the hell you didn´t see that?!´´ Yoru wore off the weights and threw one of them at her trainer. The man ducked to dodge the projectile but a second one hit him straight in the face, sending him to the ground. ``My head…´´ Rick mumbled throwing the weight aside, he was faced with the huntress standing over him. ``Any last words?´´ she asked in a dark tone. ``I am really sorry! The numbers were worn out and I am used to heavy weights!´´ he covered his face with both hands. ``Ok then…´´ she said sighing as she offered her hand, her anger got the best of her once again. Rick gulped before accepting the hand, ``Now, go get the right weights´´ Yoru demanded, Rick noticed her eyes shook as if hatred was burning inside her being.

``Are you planning to do this now or tomorrow?´´ Yoru asked in a rather calm tone, which confused the hunter, ``Are you angry with me?´´ Rick asked walking to the hut, ``Of course I am, but I am trying my best to keep it at bay. By the way! Nice first impression as a trainer!´´ she rolled her eyes, this was going to be a hard and long training.

**(Four hours later)**

Derek was at the blacksmith´s balcony looking at the weapons displayed on the wall, he was using a cream colored shirt used by villagers and shorts of the same color. ``What are you searching for?´´ one of the attendants asked, ``Can you show me the sns collection?´´, sns was a common abbreviation for "Sword and Shield", generally the hunters´s first weapons. While many changed for other weapons later in the career, some persisted in using the basic sword and shield even against dangerous monsters. Derek was a specialized in using the greatsword as his main hunting weapon, but he knew that it was ineffective against fast monsters, so he always kept a sns in his storage for precaution. ``Here, sir´´ the attendant guided the hunter to the storage room of the shop, a great set of swords and shields were hung on the wall in sets. ``These ones´´ he pointed to a specific pair.

The sword was made of silver iron yet it was way sharper than the common hunting knife, the blade, for instance, was straight instead of curved on the tip(which made trusts even more deadly). The shield was round and made of the same material, several spikes covered the surface. ``Are you sure? They are quite old, we got them on a sale last year but no one was interested until now´´ the man explained, he was ought to be sincere with his costumers. ``Yeah I am sure, how much?´´ Derek asked, ``2000 zen´´ the man answered. ``Deal made´´ the hunter grabbed a pouch of coins and gave to the man, ``Thank you for your purchase´´ the attendant smiled, Derek grabbed the pair and tested the weight, ``_They are quite light, even for standards. I hope Yoru likes them, because I don´t think she will handle that sword so soon´´ _he thought walking off the building. The hunter walked through the village, he had the sword sheathed on his back and the shield strapped on his left arm. ``_I wonder how her training is going on´´ _he thought walking towards the training ground, there he found Yoru doing pushups on the ground while Rick watched.

``Decided to join?´´ Rick asked look his rival, ``No, how goes her training?´´ Derek asked. ``Besides the fact she tried to kill me once, yeah she is doing progress´´ his friend told, ``You pissed her off, didn´t you?´´ Derek asked, ``I mistook the 30 pounds weights for the 3 pounds, the numbers were worn off´´ he explained. Yoru stopped and sat on the ground, ``Done´´ she said sweating and breathing heavily. ``Uh? What are you doing here?´´ the huntress looked at the sns. ``These are for you´´ Derek said offering the weapons, the woman raised from the ground and cleaned her forehead with her hand. ``Why?´´ she asked, ``You don´t have any other weapon besides that longsword, so I thought that you could use this meanwhile. You know, you still have to attain the other ranks if you wish to hunt powerful monsters and you can´t do that right now with that sword´´ he explained. Yoru examined the shield, she enjoyed the fact that it had spikes and thorns around the surface. ``I guess I don´t need to worry if I lose my sword during a fight´´ she said poking one of the spikes with her finger, it wasn´t sharp enough to cut through her armor by simply poking but it would be somewhat efficient to bash a monster´s body or face with it. She raised the sword upwards and looked at it, the metal was shining with the sunlight, she swung it in wide arcs and then sheathed the sword in the end.

``I liked it, how much?´´ she asked looking at Derek, ``This is a gift, don´t worry about it´´ he waved his hand. ``Thanks…´´ she murmured looking at the ground, she wasn´t still used to thank other people. ``By the way, when are you planning to resume your quests, so you get a promotion?´´ Derek asked the huntress, ``What do you mean?´´ Yoru asked, ``To gain a promotion, you need to do specific quests and a minimum of jobs´´ he said, ``How many to reach my next rank?´´ she asked. ``10 quests if I am correct. Being at least one of material gathering, one of cooking meat, one of material combination, one of mining and one of catching bugs. Then, Shen will ask you to do a specific quest, which is harder than the others´´ Rick spoke. ``Too easy! I have done that when I was living on the jungle´´ the huntress smiled, at least that was the good part of her isolation. ``Let´s call this day off, you already trained enough´´ Rick said, ``Ok then, I don´t think I could do these exercises for much longer´´ Yoru sighed relieved. ``By the way, where are you living?´´ Derek asked, ``Shen gave me the key for a small house somewhere on the east side, I slept there yesterday´´ she told.

**(10 days later)**

Yoru entered the tavern with haste and raised her arm, ``Job completed!´´ she said, in her hand was a velociprey´s claw, proof of her success but everyone had a disinterested look on their faces. Herm shield´s spikes were covered with dry blood and her armor too. ``Finally I can get a second star!´´ she said ignoring the others. Since she was used to live in the jungle, she knew most of the things that the jobs required, except for cooking with a cooking kit, which she never used before. While most novice hunters completed their jobs one at time, taking up to a month, Yoru insisted in doing three at the same time when the requested items were on the same area, taking three days to go and return each time. The last quest, which was the test to define if she was ready to be a "two stars", was to hunt a pack of velociprey that plagued some farmers on the Old Jungle´s border.

``What? She already done all the quests?´´ a hunter murmured to another one, ``But it has been just ten days´´ another spoke. The murmur grew, the hunters were surprised and amazed by how fast that huntress had completed the required quests, if there was any doubt, the claw and the blood had destroyed it. Sadly, all of her friends were doing jobs and so weren´t there to celebrate with her. Yoru´s humor fell, she really wanted to show them her hard work, the huntress turned to the exit, ``I will meet Shen´´ she said to nobody in special as she exited the tavern.

**(Shen´s house)**

``You have done a remarkable work young one´´ the elder said smoking his pipe, ``Thanks…´´ she said in a depressed tone, ``Something wrong?´´ he asked blowing a ring of smoke. ``It is just that…my friends aren´t here´´ she answered, ``Oh, that´s it. If I am right Rick and Derek went to the Old Jungle to investigate the massacre of many kelbi´´ the elder spoke, the huntress shuddered with the mention of the creature´s name. ``What about Elvis?´´ Yoru asked, ``He traveled to the desert by request of someone called Gray´´ he said, ``Gray? Why did he made a request?´´ the huntress said rubbing her chin. ``You know him?´´ the elder asked, ``Gray is the leader of a nomad group of grey cats that lives in the desert´´ she told, ``Interesting, I never heard of them before. Can you tell me more?´´ the elder said. `` During my journey they helped me and gave me the means to reach the Swamp. They once worked together with some hunters to survive, but their defenders eventually died leaving the cats alone. Gray said that their parents were both Felyne and Melynx, they are very curious, but I don´t think they are thieves like the Melynx´´ she explained.

``Do you have any idea of what he requested?´´ the huntress asked, ``No, it was just signed that it was a three star mission with a reward tag and location´´ the elder told. ``I wonder why they called for help…´´ she pondered. ``Worried about them?´´ the elder asked, ``No, of course not. They can handle themselves´´ she said with a smile. ``Anyway, here is your promotion´´ Shen handed a piece of paper, his signature was written together with a text recognizing her deeds. ``Don´t worry about the paper, the guild is notified about your status and I also have a copy with myself´´ the man said when he saw that the woman was going to ask. ``Be warned though´´ Shen advised, Yoru raised her head from the paper to look at him. ``The first rank is easy, because it involves gathering and basic survival techniques. The second rank, however, is focused more on hunting and more difficult gathering quests´´ the elder spoke, ``I am aware of that, Derek told me that some days ago´´ she said. ``Good, good…´´ the elder said rubbing his chin. Silence fell over the room.

``Ahm… I should be going now´´ Yoru said turning to the door, ``Aren´t you forgetting something?´´ he asked and the huntress turned her head with a questioning look on her face. ``You completed the quests with such haste that you actually forgot to grab your payment´´ the elder said with a bit of worry. ``Oh? Haha! I guess I actually did! I am still getting used to this payment stuff and everything. Where I can get the reward?´´ Yoru asked rubbing her head, ``You can get them on the Tavern´s balcony, the same place where you notify that you want to do a specific job. I believe there is quite a sum of money waiting for you´´ Shen answered. ``Thank you, now I must go´´ the huntress waved her hand and exited the house. ``That´s quite a mood shift we have here, compared to when she returned´´ Shen said to himself.


	10. Awareness and shenanigans

Yoru narrowed her eyes, the reward wasn´t as big as she expected. ``A thousand zen?´´ she asked in disbelief, the balcony´s maiden just smiled before another hunter came in, requesting her assistance. ``Ugh…I guess there is no arguing in this´´ she sighed tying the pouch´s rope, her stomach rumbled, ``I guess I will have to spend part of it´´ her mood fell even more. She looked at a wooden chart of prices on the wall, the dish of the day was Aptonoth´s meat, tempered with herbs, cheese and special mushrooms, costing 30 zen. ``Excuse me, I want the dish of the day and a glass of water´´ she requested to a man behind the balcony. ``Alright, just sit and wait, it should take a few minutes´´ the man said turning his back , he opened a door and shouted the order to the cooking chief.

(**10 minutes later)**

Yoru sat on a table, she tapped her fingers on the table with impatience. ``Why is he taking so long?´´ she said irritated, ``Here it is´´ a waiter walked towards her with a tablet filled with the dish, Yoru liked her lips eager to taste the food. However, what happened after could only be described as chaotic.

A hunter wearing an armor made of a mixture of ores walked towards the waiter, clueless to the attendant. He bumped into the waiter, the dish fell on the ground breaking the porcelain tablet and spreading all the food. The huntress looked at the food with a glint of sadness in her eyes, the hunter continued to walk not caring about the incident. Everyone looked at the splattered food in silence, they still remembered the day she came back and her temperament. Noticing the lack of attention of the hunter, Yoru felt an urge to confront the man, she clenched her fists, gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. ``Oh man, here it comes´´ someone mumbled.

The huntress banged her head on the table once and remained there. She hadn´t eaten since she had gone to her promotion job, which meant the last time she ate was one full day ago and coupled with the extenuating task to slay ten velociprey, her energy reserves were pretty low. ``I want the dish of the day´´ the "ore hunter" asked at the balcony, or he was blind and deaf or really stupid. Something sparkled in her mind during her rage, she didn´t really want to cause another turmoil inside the tavern but at the same time wanted to eat something, Derek´s voice entered her mind. ``_You need to calm down!´´ _he said days ago, she was in a dilemma, that hunter had to pay but the idea of a brawl or an exchange of arguments was out of question. After some time thinking with the ever tormenting rumbling of her stomach, the huntress had finally decided. She walked towards the balcony where the ore hunter was sat on a chair.

``Excuse me´´ she said in a forced calm tone, the hunter didn´t even flinch. ``I said, Excuse me´´ Yoru touched the man´s shoulder, he immediately turned. ``What do you want?´´ a female voice asked annoyed, it was a woman. It took a few seconds before the information registered in Yoru´s mind, ``You own me a dish´´ the huntress said crossing her arms, ``I do?´´ the "ore huntress" turned, she noticed the waiter cleaning off the mess on the ground. ``I didn´t do that´´ Yoru spoke closing her eyes, ``Nor me´´ the ore huntress answered, ``You bumped into the waiter´´ the angry huntress said twitching her eyes. ``It must be my earplugs´´ the ore huntress took of her helm, revealing a short blue hair. ``But why don´t you buy another one,it is just 30 zen´´ the blue haired woman said dismissing the red haired one. ``Because YOU are responsible for this´´ Yoru pointed her finger at the woman´s nose. ``You sound like a beggar´´ the woman said annoyed, ``You listen here! You WILL pay that´´ Yoru narrowed her eyes.

``Fine, fine! Here it's the money, now be gone´´ the woman threw some coins at the ground. Yoru used all her willpower to don´t attack the woman, her fists shook erratically but she finally sighed. She ducked and started to grab the coins each at a, ``Loser´´ the blue huntress whispered to herself, unfortunately the red haired huntress developed a good hearing after spending so many days hunting at night. ``Now you have gone too far!´´ Yoru threw the huntress at the ground, mounted her and threw a punch at the exposed head knocking out the blue haired woman with a single hit. Yoru gasped for air, her adrenaline was falling, everyone was in shock but didn´t want to interfere. ``Dam you, you made me lose my head again´´ the huntress said still gasping, she stood up, grabbed the coins and went for the balcony.

``I want today´s dish´´ she said casually to the attendant, the man was sweating with fear of being attacked. ``Did you hear me?´´ the huntress asked in a threatening manner, ``O-ok sir!´´ the man rushed to the kitchen. Yoru turned to walk back to her table but stopped midway to stare at the unconscious huntress, she gave a light kick to the woman´s side, awaking her. ``I advise you to stand out of my way, I really don´t want this to happen again´´ she said sincerely to the still dizzy woman.

**(Three days later)**

Yoru was on the training field doing some laps with weighs on her legs, it was relatively easy now but still required some effort by her part. She used a simple white shirt and a green shorts. None of her friends had returned, which worried her. ``Where are they?´´ she whispered to herself as she completed the last lap, ``Buh!´´ someone shouted behind her, startling the huntress. Yoru turned and almost punched Rick straight in the face, ``You scared me!´´ the huntress said, ``You are the one who scares me!´´ the rubber hunter replied as Derek chuckled. ``Did you miss us?´´ the red hunter asked, ``Of course I did´´ she answered turning her back, though the hunter felt a small change in her usual tone. ``I got promoted´´ Yoru said turning her head, ``Already?!´´ Rick asked in disbelief, ``When?´´ Derek asked. ``Three days ago…and you weren´t here when I returned´´ she tapped her foot annoyed. ``Second rank in just ten days? That´s quite a record´´ Rick praised but the huntress was still mad.

``Look, sorry if we couldn´t celebrate with you but…´´ the red hunter started but Yoru turned and waved her hand dismissing the excuse. ``I know, Shen told me. I didn´t kill them, ok?´´ she said, ``So you didn´t kill the kelbi?´´ Rick asked bluntly, ``Did you hear what I said? No, I didn´t kill them. So, did you discover anything? ´´ she replied crossing her arms. ``No, all the kelbi were mutilated in various ways, the peculiar thing is that there aren´t any kind of footprints or destroyed trees. It is like a ghost killed them´´ Derek explained, ``Did you search the trees?´´ Yoru asked without caring very much. ``No, why?´´ Rick asked, ``It could be a flying monster, so maybe it had a nest´´ Derek deduced. ``Yeah, though I didn´t see any nest on the trees during the last few months´´ Yoru spoke, ``We can´t do it again, anyway´´ Rick shrugged. ``Why not?´´ the huntress asked, ```There is a time limit, generally a few days depending on the urgency of the job, to complete the quest. We used all the time we had trying to find out something, since we couldn´t, other hunter can get it now and try it themselves. This also reduces the chance of, for example, a four stars hunter trying to kill a 5 stars monster, because what counts is the job he took´´ Derek explained.

``What if another hunter get´s this job? You can´t help him?´´ the huntress asked, ``You can lend him the information you got, like maps and clues. If it's a hunting quest, then you can help him. But a promotion quest has to be done alone, though there is nothing that states you can´t give advices´´ the red hunter told. ``Thanks for the info. By the way, did you see Elvis on your way back?´´ Yoru asked, ``No, but maybe he is busy with all the cats staring at his armor´´ Rick snorted, ``He still have some time, it was probably a hunting quest judging by what we know about them´´ Derek answered. ``Or they wanted an Apceros´s egg really bad´´ Rick laughed, ``Apceros?´´ Yoru asked. ``Herbivore monsters. They are related to the Aptonoths, but have hard shells on their head and a bad temperament´´ Derek said.

``Like you´´ Rick teased the huntress as he prepared to cover all his "weakspots". Yoru, however, just gritted her teeth, ``Am I alive?´´ the rubber knight asked lowering his hands, ``You didn´t hit me?´´ Rick asked, ``Do you want me to?´´ the huntress asked annoyed. ``No! No! Please no´´ Rick waved his hands.

**(2 days later)**

``Master Shen!´´ one of the guards that patrolled the main entrance of the village opened the hut´s door with haste, ``What happened?!´´ the elder asked worried. ``There is a large group of cats marching towards the village! Their leader is a hunter using Cephalos´ armor!´´ the hunter shouted. ``Cats you say…? I must see this´´ Shen said grabbing his staff that was on the wall.

Meanwhile, a group of hunters joined the remaining guard at the village´s entrance, which is basically wooden fences with nailed barbs and two giant sticks with a plaque saying "Welcome to Kokoto´´. Most of them came after hearing that dozens of "black" cats were coming to the village, in other words, thieves. Yoru, Rick and Derek were on the frontline, but they hadn´t any sign of worry in their faces nor had draw their weapons. ``Do you think it is them?´´ Yoru asked looking at her friends, ``I hope so, or we will have to kick some melynx butts´´ Rick snapped his fingers smiling. A flute blew three times, the first was long, the second fast and the third long.

After a few seconds a hunter came from the trees, a grey cat walked on the hind legs at his side, the felyne had a flute on his hands. ``Nice, we have a welcoming party´´ Elvis said waving his arms at the dumbstruck hunters, soon the rest of the cats appeared from behind the trees. ``What the hell?´´ someone said as the army of cats approached, there were around forty of them. All of them carried backpacks made of leather, some had pickaxes made of sticks and bones while others wielded primitive spears made of wood and sharpened rocks. ``Look what we have here´´ an hoarse voice spoke in the middle of the crowd of hunters, it was Shen.

``I suppose these are your friends´´ he spoke to Yoru, ``Yeah, but they weren´t that prepared for war when we met´´ the huntress answered, ``They played the traditional peace song...You said they lived with hunters?´´ the elder asked, ``Yes, maybe they taught the cats. You know, just in case´´ the huntress shrugged as the army neared the entrance. Noticing that the hunters still had their weapons drawn Shen decided to step in before a massacre occurred, ``Lower your weapons! They came in peace!´´ he demanded, the hunters hesitated for a few seconds before they complied(all of them knew first hand the treacherous Melynx cats).

Elvis and Gray reached the entrance, the rest of the cats stopped some feet behind them. After noticing that the cats were in fact grey and not black the hunters relaxed. ``This reminds me of a book, though it is the cat playing the flute´´ Rick remarked, ``What exactly did they requested?´´ Derek asked, ``And why are they here?´´ Yoru completed. ``That was our request. We needed someone to protect us on our way to this village´´ Gray answered, Shen watched with interest. ``Something bad happened?´´ Yoru asked, ``No´´ the cat answered, ``Then what brings you here?´´ Shen asked.

``After these four visited us two weeks ago, I entered a debate with my fellow comrades. I believe you are well aware of our past´´ Gray said and Shen nodded in response. ``The sight of these hunters sparkled something inside my people. They asked many times if it was possible to live alongside humans again and said that living in the desert was futile. I agree with them, there is no sense in surviving in that land, remembering the deaths of our human friends. I recalled the location of your village from the map the huntress shown me, so we sent a request and hoped that one of you accepted it. Fortunately he showed up and accepted to bring us here´´ the cat pointed his staff at Elvis.

``You won´t believe the shenanigans these cats made during the trip´´ the hunter pointed towards the group behind him, ``They stole a velocidrome´s egg because they were curious about what kind of creature lived inside. A young one poked a beehive. One mounted a mosswine, which was fine, until it tried to mount a bullfango hours later. And I had to stop a kid from trying to eat a Rathian´s egg´´ Elvis said placing a hand over his face. ``I apologize for my people´s curiosity, it is in our blood´´ Gray said bowing. ``So, you want to be part of the village?´´ Shen asked rubbing his beard, ``Yes and I believe we can be of great assistance. We know how to cook, build, some sorts of alarm system and most are interested in…no, I still have to decide this…What do you say?´´ Gray asked. Shen rubbed his chin, his mind processing the benefits, possible problem and changes that would befall over the village.

The cats awaited anxiously, their eyes shined with intensity. ``My answer is up above´´ the elder pointed upwards, everyone followed the finger up to the village´s plaque:``Welcome to Kokoto´´.


	11. Misunderstood

**Note:Sorry for taking so long to post it, but I had to reflect about some details of the story(to improve it) and had other things to do in my life. As compensation, the chapter is longer than usual so I hope you enjoy.**

``So...where are we going to put thirty cats?´´ Rick asked. The Four hunters coupled with Shen and Gray were on the elder´s hut, sat around the table. ``There are two felyne accommodations in the village, I think they have enough space for your people´´ Shen answered the question. ``There are others besides us?´´ Gray asked interested. ``Didn´t we told you?´´ Yoru asked, ``No´´ the cat answered. ``They take us back if our lives are in risk during jobs, though they don´t interfere in any other situation. Some also become cooking chiefs and I must say, they know what they are doing´´ Derek informed.

``I already called the chiefs responsible for the accommodations, they should be here in a few minutes´´ Shen said, ``If they don´t stop to eat a fish or two…´´ Rick mumbled but shut up after he received a glare from Derek. ``I have a question and I need you to be honest with me´´ Gray said, ``We are talking with a felyne, how talking with a cat can…´´ Rick was punched in the face by Yoru. ``Go on´´ she said not even looking at the rubber knight. ``My people are probably interacting with the others as we speak. They will probably want to join the many services the white ones already do, such as cooking or paramedic. Is there any problem with it?´´ Gray asked. ``No, not really´´ Shen answered waving his head, ``I am pleased to hear that´´ the cat smiled.

``By the way, I noticed your village´s borders lack protection, a prey can easily jump over the fence´´ the cat said. ``We have hunters working as guards around the forest, it has been years since even a bullfango attacked the village´´ the elder said dismissing the concern. ``But you never know when a monster may strike and kill the guards. If so then the village is doomed. For years we endured attacks from the horned ones, the giant sand fishes and other creatures and one by one our hunter friends were killed. No, you need to reinforce the barriers. A wall of some kind at least´´ the cat advised. ``Maybe you are right…considering your past. But…´´ the elder started.

``That would require a good deal of materials and workers´´ the red hunter said, ``Besides, our village is in no condition of spending a large sum of zen and all the people is busy with their works´´ Shen said. ``Can´t we make the one stars work in the project?´´ Elvis suggested, ``I think so…but they will hate it. But we still have no funds or resources ´´ the elder answered, ``What kind of wall you suggest?´´ Yoru asked. ``For now, one made of rocks should suffice. Then when the village has more funds you can improve it with lookout posts´´ the cat said. ``That sounds reasonable…´´ Shen considered. ``That is a lot of rock gathering we have to do, maybe we can ask Jumbo for help´´ Derek said. ``But there is still the money problem´´ the medic hunter remarked and everyone nodded.

``There is one family who can solve this problem…´´ Rick rubbed his chin, ``You can´t be serious´´ Derek understood who he was talking about. ``Who?´´ Yoru asked, ``The Sapphire family´´ the rubber knight said, ``You got be joking´´ Elvis snorted. ``Did you forget I´m new here?´´ the huntress glared, ``Sorry! The Sapphire family is one of the richest of Kokoto. They own an entire deposit of minerals and provide it for the blacksmiths of t he village´´ Rick answered a little tense.

``And they are all full of themselves, thinking that money buys everything´´ Elvis agreed. ``Sapphire you say? Do they have blue hair and wear armor made of precious stones?´´ Yoru asked, ``That must be their daughter, Yue. Don´t tell me-´´ Derek sighed. ``What? She just paid me lunch and it was delicious!´´ the huntress mused. ``You knocked her out didn´t you?´´ Derek asked, ``She bumped into the waiter and my dish fell on the floor, I actually tried to make her pay for it, which she did. But! She offended me and then I knocked her…but I just punched her once!´´ Yoru said slightly ashamed.

``You tried to reason? Are you sick or something?´´ Rick said in a worried tone but everyone noticed he was joking. ``Ugh…then her family will be in a really bad mood´´ Derek covered his face with his hand, ``They will probably call you soon, Shen´´ Elvis said looking at the elder. ``I know, I know…they will probably request some explanation or remuneration´´ Shen said sighing, ``I suppose they won´t agree with the project if that happened´´ Gray said staring at the ground. Silence fell upon the room, the huntress was saddened because she ruined the plan, ``_Its all my fault…´´_she thought.

``You know what? You can call me anything you want, I´m going to get that money sooner or later´´ Yoru walked off the room without looking at anyone. ``Is she going to force them to pay?´´ Rick asked, ``I hope not´´ Derek said going after the huntress. ``How many quests a hunter can get at once?´´ Gray asked licking his arm, ``There is no limit, but they have to complete each one to get the reward´´ Shen answered. ``Then you all have to bid her farewell ´´ the cat said, ``Why?´´ Rick asked, ``Are you stupid or were you born like this? He is implying she will do many jobs to get the money´´ Elvis retorted. Someone knocked the door, ``Here we go´´ Rick shivered.

**(Tavern)**

``What kind of job can I get…?´´ Yoru mumbled staring at the quest board. ``Dam it, most are gathering quests…ore mining? Earth Crystals? What kind of ore is this?´´ she grabbed the paper to inspect when a hand fell over her shoulder. ``Don´t tell it still hurts´´ Derek said from behind, he had his helm under one of his arms. ``No. Why are you here?´´ the huntress asked not even looking back. ``Sincerely, I thought you would force the Sapphire family to pay, but I guess I was wrong´´ the red hunter admitted. ``Just because I have anger issues don´t mean I am stupid´´ Yoru said irritated. ``What are you doing?´´ Derek asked, ``Getting a job, I said I was going to pay it´´ the huntress answered. ``You know it is a large sum of zen, right?´´ Derek asked.

``Yeah I know…´´ she sighed, ``But if the village gets richer, then we can build that wall´´ the huntress finished. ``Then I guess we will have to spare a lot of money´´ the red hunter said searching the board. The truth was that Derek knew full well that it was her fault that the Sapphire family was pissed, but he knew better than to say that in her face. ``What is an earth crystal?´´ she asked, ``An abrasive ore, very useful for forging and polishing weapons. I think it can even remove a bit of rust from a blade´´ Derek said staring at a request paper he took from the board. ``Do you think it can restore my longsword?´´ the huntress asked. ``Well…your weapon is completely covered with rust. It would take dozens of stones to take off all the rust´´ the red hunter answered, ``Then this is the perfect job´´ the woman showed the paper in her hands. ``Earth Crystals gathering in a velociprey and bullfango filled area? You know that you have to give the ores, don´t you?´´ the hunter asked.

``Yeah, but if I find more than they need then they are mine, right? Besides I can get the prey´s hide to make a new armor and the payment is good. Tell me why I shouldn´t take this job´´ the huntress said. ``This job is quite old, the requester wants it done in the next three days´´ the man said inspecting the paper, he heard the huntress swearing something under her breath. ``You won´t find all the stones in just two days, considering you take one just to go and return´´ Derek complemented. ``There is one man who can help me, but he will be hard to find…´´ Yoru murmured, ``Who?´´ the hunter asked. ``Haikan´´ the woman said folding the paper. ``Pardon me?´´ the red hunter raised a brow, ``A very little man with reddish skin carrying a backpack, rings a bell?´´ Yoru described moving her hands to show the man´s size. ``Oh he! I never heard his name before. But how he can help you?´´ Derek asked, ``Haikan loves to collect ores and stones, he should know where we can get these earth crystals. The problem is:he is a traveler. Do you have any idea where he can be?´´ the huntress rubbed her chin.

``No, I saw him before inside the jungle, forest and hills, the snowy mountains and the desert. It is easier to just look after the stones. I know some mining areas but even so these stones are quite hard to find´´ Derek looked upwards trying to remember the locations. ``Will you help me?´´ Yoru asked, ``Someone has to show the places for you, after all´´ he replied.

**(Old Jungle)**

Yoru looked at Derek as he searched inside a blue chest. They were at one of the many shared camps utilized by hunters. It was composed of a large circular tent with beds inside and two chests outside, one blue and one red. ``What they gave us this time?´´ the huntress asked, ``Four pickaxes, two maps, two small whetstones and three potions´´ Derek said handing half of the items, except for the potions which he gave two. ``Two?´´ the huntress asked storing the items inside her leather bag. ``You might need it, my armor can handle a couple of prey´s claws´´ the red hunter threw the bag behind his back and so did the huntress. ``Let´s go´´ Derek said walking out of the clearing.

**(Minutes later)**

``I know what you are trying to do´´ Yoru said making a forced march, ``What are you talking about?´´ Derek asked, ``Don´t lie, you blame me for punching Yue´´ the huntress said jumping over a log, ``You punched her, that´s a fact. But you didn't ruin the barricade plan on purpose´´ the red hunter said cautiously as he followed the huntress. ``But it still my fault and know the village will be unprotected for Fatalis knows how much time.´´ the woman said, ``Over there´´ the red hunter pointed to the left where the terrain was going downwards. ``The village is safe for now´´ Derek said, ``For now, but what if a pack of monsters attack? Or even Kushala!´´ the huntress said stopping and looking at the man´s eyes. ``Aren´t you a little overprotective of the village?´´ the hunter said calm but the huntress snorted angry and turned to walk away. ``Yoru,did something happen to your family?´´ Derek asked and then Yoru stopped on her track.

``Derek…we are being hunted´´ the huntress said moving her hand towards the sword on her back. A velocidrome jumped from a bush on the left but the huntress raised her spiked shield, piercing the drome´s hide. The monster jumped to the side, bleeding from the many wounds it received and then it roared. Several velocipreys jumped from their hiding spots, surrounding the duo. Derek grabbed his greatsword and stood back to back with Yoru. ``How did they get this close without we noticing?´´ he said turning his head to the left and then to the right. ``Come on! I dare you try to take my eye!´´ the huntress bashed her sword on her shield´s side, ``You take care of the others, the drome is mine!´´ Yoru rushed to the leader, Derek sweat dropped at that but had no time to help, a prey was coming from the left.

The hunter held the sword horizontally behind him, the tip hitting the ground and then swung upwards when the monster jumped at him. The creature was cut in half, blood spewing and tainting the man´s armor, the sheer size of the weapon made the blade fall backwards, smashing another prey that was going for a sneak attack. Derek then spun to the right and blocked a pair of claws with his greatsword.

Meanwhile, a pair of preys laid dead on the ground as Yoru stood between their bodies, the drome had its head lowered and the tail raised three meters away from the huntress. ``I have no time for this´´ she raised her shield and kept her sword horizontally above her shield. The monster ran forward but the huntress knew better, the moment the drome jumped to the side she jumped at the same direction, delivered horizontal slash at the monster´s side and then bashed the shield at the creature´s face, blinding one of its eyes. ``How does it feel? It hurts, doesn´t it!´´ she grinned stepping back to see the monster in agony. ``Yoru! Don´t let it roar! It will attract more preys!´´ Derek shouted fighting the rest of the velocipreys. The huntress shook her head to the sides, the hunter´s voice had taken her out of her hatred trance.

Yoru narrowed her eyes and focused on her opponent, the drome was staring at her with an offensive stance, blood dripping from the wounds and eye closed. The huntress rushed forward but the drome jumped back and moved its tail like a whip, hitting the huntress´s belly. Yoru fell on the ground, she saw the monster jumping at her so she rolled to the left while attacking with her sword, cutting the creature´s leg. The drome fell on the ground twitching in pain, the blade left a serious gash on the potent leg of the creature, but it wasn´t enough to cut it entirely. Yoru regained her footing, she stared as the velocidrome contorted and roared in the ground but no prey came to its aid for the roars were of pain and not of help.

After many seconds the creature gave a powerful roar and then jumped to the side, standing up in a remarkable demonstration of will. It ran forward but Yoru stepped to the side and spun, cutting across the creature´s exposed torso. The beast fell down on the ground dead, blood flowing through the wounds creating a pool of blood. Yoru stood upon the corpse in silence, her sword and shield lowered. Derek came running from behind, all the preys were dead, ``Are you okay?´´ he asked panting. ``Yes…´´ she said staring the velocidrome´s corpse, ``Nice kill´´ the red hunter said noticing the dead body. Yoru sheated her sword and grabbed her carving knife. ``We don´t have time for this, we need to find the stones´´ Derek said, ``I want his pelt and scales´´ she buntly said. ``The stones are our priority, you are the one who chose this quest remember?´´ the red hunter said. ``I know, but I want these materials, it won´t take long´´ she said cutting the drome´s hide with the knife.

**(10 minutes later)**

``Done´´ the huntress closed her secondary bag and passed the rope through her left arm, ``You won´t take the preys´s hide too?´´ Derek asked. ``No´´ she answered standing up. The man rose his brows curious at the huntress´ behavior, that monster should be something special for she. ``May I ask why you want these materials?´´ he asked, ``Let´s say…we have something in common´´ she answered turning her head, the hunter saw only her blind eye and so looked back. He stared at the prey´s bodies and then their leader, he didn´t see any minion close to the drome. ``_ He didn´t flee or called for help? That´s weird for a drome…Is that it?´´ _he thought walking behind Yoru.

``You saw yourself, didn´t you?´´ he asked, ``Yeah, even though it is weird since it's a beast´´ she said. ``Do you think you have something in common with the wyrm you like to hunt?´´ she asked, ``Well, except for the fact I like high places and Rathalos is the king of skies, no´´ he laughed. ``Rathalos?´´ she asked, ``Yes, my armor is made from many Rathalos parts. He is one of the most powerful wyverns and that is why he is revered as the king of skies. `` There are actually three kinds of Rathalos. The red ones are the weakest, the blue ones are more intelligent and powerful and the silver ones are the strongest and rarest´´ the hunter explained. ``Why they have different colors?´´ Yoru asked. ``There are many theories. Some speculate they change color as they turn older, other researchers say they are completely different species with a common past, hence the similar appearance´´ Derek said. ``Do they have any proof to support these theories?´´ the huntress asked.

``Not really. Many researchers studied the eggs and babies during years ,they say that when they are born all the babies have the same brownish color. Sadly, it is not allowed to raise them because they can grow violent and fierce, posing a threat to the village so we don´t know what kind of "Talos" they will become´´ the hunter explained. ``What about raising one of them in place far away?´´ Yoru asked, ``They tried, but every time all the researchers are found dead and the babies gone. So no one knows for sure´´ Derek sighed. ``And now, we just deliver these eggs to the cooking chiefs. I don´t care if it's the best egg in the world! It is not worth it! Many hunters died just because someone wanted an exotic meal, this is ridicule!´´ Derek shouted angry. ``Hey, calm down, you will attract more monsters´´ Yoru warned, the hunter sighed deeply.

``Where we go now?´´ Yoru asked when she came upon a bifurcation, ``Left´´ he said and they continued onwards. ``Derek…´´ she said quietly, in a soft tone, ``Yes?´´ he said, ``Sorry for shouting at you…´´ she said quietly. ``Apologize accepted´´ the hunter buntly said and the Yoru´s eyes widened. ``You´re not mad with me?´´ she asked turning back, ``Why would I? You were just worried about the village. Kokoto is our village, and our home, after all´´ he said raising the metal visor. ``Home…´´ the huntress looked at the ground, the hunter could see something troubled her.

**(Flashback)**

_Yoru sat on a rock at a clearing, a large lake could be seen on the horizon. She wore standard clothes which had a brown pattern. A mosswine sniffed a bush close to the tress and a pack of kelbi drank from the lake while the leader looked around searching for possible predators. The sky was clean and…A roar erupted from the forest behind the teen, it was so powerful that it could be heard kilometers away. The kelbi and mosswine ran into the forest and soon disappeared. Yoru almost jumped from the rock, she stood looking at the trees, whatever was the thing that was responsible for it was close to a place she knew. ``Father! Mother!´´ she rushed into the forest._

**(End of the flashback)**

``Do you want to talk about something?´´ Derek asked walking closer. ``No, I´m fine´´ she lied, even giving a fake smile. ``_You don´t want to talk about it, ok then´´ _he hunter thought. ``Come one Derek! We don´t have the entire day´´ the huntress urged walking away. ``This is it´´ he simply said, ``What?´´ Yoru asked confused, ``That rock over there´´ the man pointed to a large rock formation that easily stood over three meters of height, many cracks surrounded the giant stone where many adventurers had hit with pickaxes. ``But it looks like they already mined it´´ she protested, ``Sometimes the best ores are deep inside´´ he said throwing his back at the ground. ``We better hurry, we will be lucky to just get a pair of crystals from this rock´´ Derek said grabbing his pickaxe. Yoru made the same thing and went for a random spot.

**(Hours later)**

A pile of common rock laid on the ground close to both hunter´s legs, Derek had his helm on the ground and he was sweating like a bullfango after a pursuit on the desert. ``I got one! What about you?!´´ he asked the huntress at the other side of the rock. ``Three! And I don´t think there are any more´´ she said coming from behind the giant stone. ``But I got some iron ores and a whetstone, that will be useful´´ she said with a grin. ``It will only slow us down´´ the hunter protested, ``Don´t worry, I need to get used to carrying weight along the road. Besides, it will only make my legs stronger, it isn´t like I am carrying my longsword or Rick´s hammer´´ the woman retorted.

``Fine, but we better hurry and go back to the main camp´´ he said. ``Why? It is faster to go to the next mining spot´´ she said. ``It will be faster to deliver the ores we already found, less weigh is better´´ Derek told throwing his bag over his shoulder. ``The sun is setting…Dam! We only have two days to get 6 stones and return´´ Yoru said worried. ``We still have plenty of time, few hunters know the other mining spots´´ Derek said dismissing the huntress doubts.

They walked the way back in silence, Derek noticed Yoru casually hold her side with her hand, ``Are you okay?´´ he asked. ``That drome slammed his tail on me, but my bones are fine, I think´´ she closed her good eye. ``Let me take a look once we are back, just to make sure´´ the hunter suggested, ``I am fine, really. If it gets worse I will tell you´´ she smiled recovering her posture.

**(Minutes Later)**

``What happened here?´´ the huntress crouched to examine the ground, they were on the same spot where they were ambushed by velocipreys. Derek counted the bodies, there were two preys missing and the drome Yoru killed was out of place, as if something turned it to the side. The hunter noticed a mark on the ground, ``This is bad, Yoru come over here!´´ he shouted crouching. ``Did you find something?´´ the woman asked, ``A footprint. We need to get out of here´´ he said showing the said mark. ``It is a Rathian, a four stars wyvern and judging by the signals it was here recently´´ the hunter rised from the ground and motioned her to follow him, ``What´s the worry? It can fly right? It won´t see us with all these trees´´ the huntress said looking upwards as they walked faster. ``Not all wyverns are flying predators. Rathians can fly pretty well but they rather hunt in the ground´´ Derek answered.

``Why hunt in the ground when you can fly and have a better view?´´ Yoru asked, ``First because of the trees and second because her mate does that´´ Derek replied. ``Mate?´´ the woman asked, ``Rathalos, the King of the Skies. All Rathians are females and all Rathalos are males, it is a gender thing. While the male watches the territory from the sky the female guards the nest by the ground, that´s why she has the title of Queen of Earth´´ the hunter answered. ``Is our camp safe?´´ she asked, ``Yes, it is far from the territory of any large monster´´ the hunter said. ``How can I know if it is a Rathalos or a Rathian?´´ the huntress asked, ``Rathians, like Rathalos, can be found with three different colors. Green, Pink and Gold. In the same sense as their male counterparts the green ones are the weakest and the golden ones the strongest´´ Derek told.

``Hide!´´ Yoru shouted in low voice as she crouched behind a tree, instinctively the hunter done the same. ``Did you see something?´´ he asked spying from the hiding spot, ``Over there´´ she pointed, taking caution to not expose her whole arm. Derek followed the finger and noticed a large silhouette walking away from the left to the right, partially hid in the middle of the vines and masked by its natural green color. It was maybe ten meters away and it didn´t seem to be walking towards them, ``Rathian´´ he whispered.


	12. Wyvern Royalty

``What we do now? Sneak?´´ Yoru whispered, ``Yeah, keep your head down and beware of sticks…´´ Derek spied, the Rathian was still wandering to the left. ``Let´s go´´ he motioned with his hand, still looking at the creature. Yoru crouched and started to crawl forward using the bushes as covers. After checking again to see if the creature was still walking away Derek crouched and followed the huntress but something happened.

Yoru heard a crack and a splashing sound. She looked down and saw that she had stepped on a giant hornet of the size of her. ``_Oh no´´ _Derek thought raising his head to look at the monster. The Rathian had stopped, it was looking around searching for the source of the noise. ``Derek…´´ the huntress mumbled, ``Quiet!´´ he whispered but his eyes widened when he saw a vespoid flying around. The insect monster was slowly going to the huntress which didn´t know if she should go or stay still. ``_Dam it! If I kill it, the body will crack and make noise´´ _the hunter thought as the creature approached Yoru. The huntress was fighting the urge to kill the pathetic bug, it was the first kind of monster she killed and she wasn´t fond of the paralysis effect that the poison caused. She thought that maybe she could just endure it and go on but she remembered that these creatures could sting several times before running out of poison. Fortunately Derek came with a solution.

``When I kill it, crawl the fastest you can…´´ he whispered and the huntress nodded. Derek grabbed his greatsword and prepared an upwards slash, it would require a great deal of control to move in this position and even more to stop the blade before it could reach the ground. Derek took a deep breath and prepared his blade.

**CRACK! **The bug exploded in many pieces and with a grunt the hunter stopped the blade just an inch or two from the ground. Green blood fell on Yoru´s armor but she didn´t have time to complain, she crawled towards the main camp with Derek behind. He didn´t even need to look, he could hear the footsteps as the green wyvern approached. They covered a good distance when the footsteps stopped, the hunter looked back and saw the Rathian sniffing the ground, some drops of green blood acted as a trail from the corpse to the duo. Derek looked back at Yoru, there was still some blood slipping through her armor. The huntress was a few steps away when she looked back to ask why her friend had stopped. Realizing the motivation, Yoru cursed under her breath, the beast was sniffing the ground following the trail.

``You go to the camp´´ Derek grabbed his bag from his back and opened it, he handed the huntress his earth crystal. ``You will…´´ she whispered taking the ore, ``I have fought Rathians before, now go´´ he whispered pointing with his hand. ``But!´´ she protested. The hunter turned and raised from the ground, his greatsword in both hands, ``Come on your bastard wyvern!´´ he shouted, the green beast roared noticing the intruder. ``Go!´´ he shouted as the wyvern stomped her way to her prey. Yoru blinked, for one second Derek turned into Rick and the Rathian into Kushala. ``I can take care of her! Don´t worry!´´ Derek shouted, bringing the huntress attention back. ``You better come back alive´´ she said crawling away. Derek smiled under his helm, he had only one thing to pay attention now.

The Rathian launched a fireball, usually a monster would fire straight but Derek knew better than that. He jumped backwards as the fireball exploded at the spot he was standing. The creature ran forward, roaring in defiance and spreading its wings wide. The hunter raised the sword high, then leaned it backwards, preparing for a downward slash. Derek grunted as he gathered all his strength, he needed to strike at the right moment. Judging the distance and speed of the Rathian he strained his muscles and bent his legs. This was the first time he tried to use this technique.

Some greatsword users started to use this kind of attack some years ago. The technique was based on the way hammer users gathered their power and slammed their weapons on the ground. But the greatswords had a bigger reach and the hunter started the move with the weapon already in a vertical position, while hammer users prepared the hammer in a horizontal position before lifting the weapon and smashing the ground, losing power in the process. Also, the blade had a tinnier area of contact compared to hammers and so, in theory, should cause a bigger damage on the target. Of course, both techniques required a great deal of strength and the hunter had to expect the attack to connect, otherwise it would leave the user exposed to the monsters.

``Raaaah!´´ Derek shouted swinging the sword as the Rathian got into range, the monster roaring at the same time. Somewhere in the forest Yoru stopped and looked back, she was too far to see anything but could swear she heard Derek shouting in fury. ``_It is a battle cry, not a pain shout´´ _she thought running again, ``It seems I own you one, again…´´ she mumbled in a bitter tone.

The Rathian fell on the ground, the greatsword craved on the head. Derek breathed heavily, adrenaline was pumping through his veins. He grabbed the sword and took it off the creature´s head, sighing in relief. But then he heard a grunt and looked at the monster, the Rathian shivered and opened its eyes. ``How did you survive that?!´´ he asked in disbelief. The monster raised and stood up, shaking the head to the sides as some scales fell to the ground revealing a deep cut in the head. The creature roared again, this time to the sky, ``Don´t tell me you called him´´ he said to himself as he held his sword diagonally. The Rathian spun to the side, the hunter crouched as the tail passed just inches from his head.

The hunter delivered a horizontal slash when the Rathian´s head was visible again and then used his own momentum to hit again. The monster opened the mouth in anguish as blood spilled on the ground. Before Derek could attack again the monster jumped back, flapping its wings and creating a wind gust. ``Dam it! She is winning time for her partner arrive´´ Derek said covering his face with his hand, when he looked again the monster was rushing at him. He held the sword horizontally and rolled to the right, barely dodging. The Rathian continued to run for a while before falling to the ground.

Yoru entered a clearing gasping for oxygen. ``What am I doing anyway?! I should be there, helping him! They say Shen created these rules to save hunters, then why I am following them now?´´ she asked to herself cleaning her forehead with the hand as she looked back. ``However Derek said he killed Rathians before and besides I would get in the way. But every hunt is dangerous, one slip and he is struck down. No, I am going back´´ she said looking back. A swooshing sound came from behind, followed by a powerful roar. Yoru looked back as the form of a red Rathalos came with claws extended to snatch she.

Yoru dived and fell on the ground, the king of the skies passed through and then ascended to the sky once more before he crashed the trees. ``I think I have my own problems right now´´ the huntress grumbled raising from the ground. She looked at the sky, the wyrm was flapping his wings, keeping a steady position at the center of the clearing. ``_He has the height advantage and I have no places to hide_´´ she thought biting her lips, she wished for an archer or a bow gunner at that moment. The king of the skies reared its head, smoke puffing from the mouth. Yoru ran to the side the fastest she could, the fireball exploded behind she and then another and another, she could fell the last´s one heat.

The Rathalos stared at the huntress as she regained her posture and looked back, they were immobile for an unknown time until the monster bend his neck backwards. Yoru prepared to run when a powerful roar filled her ears, forcing she to cover her ears with her hands, ``Agh!´´ she screamed in pain. When she opened her eyes, the monster had already launched an enormous fireball. She had no time to dodge or block with her small shield.

Derek blocked with his greatsword as the Rathian jumped and spun, hitting the weapon with its tail. The hunter was thrown back with the impact and slid for a while until he regained his footing. He jumped with his sword raised, aiming at the monster´s head as it landed, that was a mistake. As the monster landed it reared back and then jumped again, doing a back flip. The thorn filled tail struck the hunter in the chest, launching him at the ground.

Black smoke covered the area around Yoru, as the fog dissipated a giant shield stood in front of the huntress. ``Need some help?´´ a familiar voice asked, Yoru opened her eyes and saw a man covered in light blue armor, wielding a greatshield and lance of the same color. The armor was composed of several layers of scales, an orange hide of sorts covering the midsection at the front and white pants with a dark blue adorning the sides. The shield was made of the same kind of scales and was producing smoke as result of absorbing the fireball. ``Rick?´´ the huntress asked, ``The one and the same! My job is to slay that guy over there´´ he pointed his lance at the flying wyvern. The monster responded by firing another fireball, which the man easily blocked.

``Where is Derek?´´ he asked recovering from the impact, ``Fighting a Rathian´´ she answered. ``You go back to the camp, I will deal with this guy and then help he´´ Rick said impaling the ground with his lance and grabbing a yellow sphere from a bag hanging on his back. ``Cover your eyes!´´ he shouted launching the sphere, Yoru covered her face with her arm, she heard a small bang and then a flash coming from the corner of her eyes. ``Now run!´´ Rick shouted grabbing his weapon, she saw that the wyvern had fallen to the ground and was having trouble getting up. ``Go!´´ Rick insisted as he ran towards his target with his shield up and lance extended.

The huntress considered helping Rick, but then remembered her fight with the white skinned Khezu and her conversation with Rick when they first met. She wasn´t ready nor had the equipment to cause damage or survive the vicious attacks of the monster. ``One day…´´ she mumbled to herself as she fled from the battlefield.

Rick blocked a bite from the still dizzy Rathalos, the flash bomb was useful for taking flying beast from the sky but some monsters kept turning and attacking without a pattern, which made attacks risky situations. The monster suddenly jerked its head up and then shook it to the sides, Rick trusted his spear, aiming at the creature´s neck but missed by just a few inches and so jumped back twice to gain distance. ``_I am glad I had this blue kut ku armor in my storage´´ _he thought as he blocked the fire breath of the wyvern.

Yoru stopped and then crouched behind a bush. She almost ran straight into a pack of bullfango. The boar like monster were annoying to every monster hunter, be a novice or even a high rank one. One or two here a nuisance, but an entire pack of eight or more was a walking nightmare to every hunter in the entire continent. The last thing she wished at that moment was a group of them running behind she to the resting camp, they were faster than any human, especially hunters carrying heavy materials or using heavy armor. Yoru waited for the monsters to pass through and then resumed her way to the camp.

After half of an hour or so she reached the camp, but then she hid behind a tree. The blue box was open, she was sure that Derek had closed it when they left. Something or someone had found their camp and might be inside the tent. The huntress spied for a long time while also paying attention to any sound around the area. When nothing came she walked from behind the tree and with over caution and went to the box with sword drawn, the box was empty. She twisted her legs and waist and then jumped in front of the tent´s entrance. ``Nothing?´´ she asked looking around, the bed sheets were all scrambled . The cupboard was open with nothing inside, but that's because Yoru didn´t store anything there. Yoru crouched and checked the ground for footprints, there were none since the ground inside the tent was harder than the outside because of the lack of humidity. She instead went outside again and searched the area around the box. ``These marks, they…´´she didn´t have time to finish, a group of Melynx jumped from behind the trees and quickly surrounded the huntress.

``Melynx, you dirty thieves´´ she said looking around, the black cats were wielding staffs with a pawn like structure on the tip while some had small barrels on their hands, all had their faces covered by a green veil. ``Give the felvine human! Meow!´´ one of the black cats said. ``Felvine? I don´t have any´´ the huntress answered. Felvine was a yellow herb coveted by Melynx, the black cats would do almost anything to put their pawns on the "holy" herb, including robbing items from hunters in search of said plant. Yoru had bad experiences with these black cats during her "three months training", which included stole ores, materials and food. She wouldn´t let these thieves rob her precious earth stones.

``I bet you are lying, meow!´´ one Melynx said, ``So we will have to "check"´´ another said snickering. ``Just try! I am not in a good mood today!´´ Yoru said grabbing the hilt of her sword, she spun and then kicked a Melynx that was sneaking behind her with a small explosive bomb. The cat flew back to the circle of bandits and the explosive detonated just a few seconds later, creating a cloud of black smoke.

Derek shook his head as he sidestepped the Rathian´s bite, his vision was getting blurred and his muscles stiff. Blood was dripping from a crack in his belly´s armor. ``_Dam these poison spikes´´ _he thought slashing the sword downwards, aiming at the creature´s head. The monster recognized the attack and used its head as a battering ram, sending the hunter flying away. ``Ugh! This is…not my day´´ he said hugging his belly as the monster stomped its way to him.

A metal ball fell from a nearby tree, bouncing on the branches and falling at the hunter´s side, he looked at the sphere, trying to recognize what kind of object was that, until white smoke erupted from the top, covering the area around him.


	13. Carrying lives over your soulders

Rick sidestepped a fireball, the scales of his shield were slightly cracked. ``_I can´t risk losing my shield_´´ he thought sweating. He charged with his shield up as the wyvern prepared another fireball. When he was close enough he lowered his shield and trusted his lance upwards at the monster´s chin. The impact jerked the monster´s head towards the sky just as the creature fired, the ball of fire exploded at the sky. Giving no time to rest, Rick stepped forward and trusted several times, this time at the Rathalos´ neck. ``Raaaahhh!´´ the hunter shouted hitting again and again until the tip of the weapon finally penetrated the jugular. The beast fell dead with blood dripping from the small but deadly cut. Rick took off his blade from the monster and placed the lance on the support on his back. ``Now I need to help Derek´´ he said breathing heavily.

``What you stole from MY camp?!´´ Yoru held a badly injured Melynx by its "hands", her armor was vastly covered with cinders. ``Nothing! I swear! Meow!´´ the black cat screamed trying to free himself. ``I SAW footprints, an open chest and you tried to rob me!´´ the huntress said looking around, all the other Melynx were knocked out and some had a smoke fog emanating from their furs. ``If you tell me, I will let you all go, this time´´ the huntress sighed, this was the only way she would get any information from him. `` Fine! Fine! Meow! Just don´t hurt me anymore!´´ the Melynx said looking directly into her eyes. ``We were following you when you were returning to the camp. This is the first time we come here! Meow!´´ the black cat swore closing its eyes, ``Then WHO invaded the camp?!´´ she looked around as if she could see the unknown thief among the tress.

``Quickly, meow!´´ a cat shouted somewhere, Derek struggled to get on his feet, this should be the Felyne assigned to escort him in case he fell in combat. ``Here!´´ a small shadow wavered behind a tree, the hunter followed as he heard the Rarthian roar frustrated that it lost its prey. They came off the white fog and ran the fastest they could, the monster was still lost inside the smoke.

Derek looked down and saw a grey cat running on its four legs, a staff of sorts was attached to his back. ``We need to hurry, meow!´´ the cat said, ``You are one of Grey´s cats, what are you doing here?´´ he asked looking back, they weren´t being followed. ``Helping you, meow! Need to go fast, spotted Melynx going to the camp, meow!´´ the cat said jumping over a log, the hunter did the same. ``Melynx? This ought be bad´´ Derek said coughing, his chest hurt badly. ``Derek! Ah!´´ Rick screamed appearing out of nowhere, both hunters fell on the ground. ``Rick! What are you doing here?!´´ the red hunter said getting off his comrade . ``Just finished a job, that Rathalos is good as dead´´ the blue knight said grabbing a chipped scale from his shield. ``Did you meet Yoru?´´ the red hunter asked checking if they weren´t being followed. ``Yeah, she was having trouble with the king. She should be at the camp now´´ Rick told, he noticed that his friend was holding his chest with his hand and was curved forward.

``Are you okay?´´ Rick asked, blood dripped from the hunter´s hand, ``I guess…not´´ Derek answered shaking his head, ``Poison´´ he answered the unspoken question. ``Rathian´s toxin, eh?´´ the blue knight asked and the red hunter nodded. ``Here, drink this´´ Rick grabbed a small flask containing a blue liquid from his pocket, his comrade drank the antidote in just one go and threw the empty flask aside. ``How deep the spike penetrated?´´ Rick asked, ``Just a scratch, the armor protected me´´ the red hunter said giving a deep breath. "_I don´t know what is worst, the poison or the medicine_´´ Derek used to think when he was younger, the same phrase filled his head as he felt the antidote "fighting" the poison. His muscles burned like he was touching hot magma, his brain itched and his blood pulsated in an abnormal rate. ``I will need your help´´ Derek coughed, ``To ever think you would need my help´´ Rick mused throwing Derek´s armor over his shoulder, ``There is first time…for everything´´ the red hunter said sweating. ``You, watch our back´´ Rick ordered the grey cat.

They passed through the clearing Rick fought the Rathalos, the immobile form of the former king of sky was still untouched by scavengers. ``Meow! That´s big!´´ the cat said running towards the corpse, ``Rathalos, one of the kings of the sky´´ Derek said coughing, ``Easy there´´ Rick said. ``I have to carve that soon, I don´t want to be here when his mate find out. Let´s go! An angry Rathian is worst than a raging Monoblos!´´ the blue knight said calling the cat, recognizing the horned monster´s name it rushed to follow the duo.

``I swear! I don´t know! Meow!´´ they heard a cat begging, what they found was a pretty angry huntress threatening to punch a badly injured Melynx. ``I guess you don´t need our help´´ Rick said looking around the camp, ``Meow…´´ the grey cat mumbled hiding behind Derek. ``You´re back!´´ Yoru said happy, ignoring the black cat for the moment. ``A cat stole something from the chest, but they won´t tell me´´ she glared at the suspended cat. ``Ah…umm…Meow…´´ the grey cat said whimpering, ``You! Come here!´´ Yoru let the Melynx fall to the ground, it ran past the hunters and disappeared inside a bush. The grey cat walked timidly in two pawns towards the huntress. ``You´re one of Grey´s cats´´ she remarked with a hint of surprise in her voice, ``What you stole?´´ she narrowed her eyes.

``Ah, uhm… a smoke ball?´´ the cat said shivering, the huntress moved her hand towards the felyne as if to grab him. ``Wait…he saved me´´ Derek told with difficulty, his throat was dry and was hard to speak. Yoru stopped, she glanced to her friends and then to the "thief´´. She petted the cat´s head, a small smile on her face. ``What happened to you?´´ the huntress asked concerned, ``Poison, but I gave him the average antidote´´ Rick said walking to the tent. ``He doesn´t look so well´´ Yoru said following the duo. ``Rathian´s poison is stro-ong, uff! It can kill in less than…an hour´´ Derek said tired as he took off his helm, Rick helped him to get on one of the beds. ``He will be fine?´´ the huntress asked, `` It will take some time to get r-id of the po-ison...I will be…fi-ne…´´ Derek closed his eye, in a matter of seconds he was already sleeping.

``I bet he was poisoned for quite some time before I gave him the antidote. All he needs now is a good rest. He should awake in a few hours´´ Rick explained, ``How he was poisoned?´´ the cat asked. ``By the way, what is your name?´´ Yoru asked, ``Pasir, at your service, meow!´´ the cat bowed. ``About your question. Rathians have poison filled spikes on their tails, it is very potent and it can´t be cured by standard, weaker, antidotes. Fortunately, Rathalos have the same kind of poison on their claws, so I had the antidote prepared with me, just in case, you know?´´ Rick said. ``Your knowledge of poisons is useful´´ Yoru praised. ``When you are poisoned every week, you have to know how to cure yourself´´ the hunter retorted smiling.

``Now, how did you get here?´´ Yoru asked Pasir, ``Wanted some adventure, meow! I thought this wasn´t so dangerous, just stone gathering and other things, meow! It was hard to avoid the white one ´´ Pasir told sniffing his whisker. ``This reminds me, where is your Felyne? He should be watching the whole thing and aid Derek when he was poisoned´´ Rick pondered ``Now that you said it, I don´t remember seeing him either. But there was a vespoid wandering around trying to paralyze us when we met the Rathian, maybe he stung our "watcher"´´ Yoru said, ``Maybe he likes you´´ the blue knight said serious. ``Maybe that Rathalos wanted to be your mate´´ she answered walking out of the tent, Rick spitted on the ground, disgusted by the idea. The remaining Melynx were nowhere to be seem. ``They´re gone´´ Pasir remarked, ``Cowards ´´ Yoru said, ``After what you have done to them, I doubt they will return´´ Rick said looking at the burn marks on the ground.

``Grey knows you are here?´´ the huntress asked Pasir, ``Ah, meow….no. Will you take me back?´´ the grey cat said shifting the weight on his hind legs. ``I don´t have time for this, you will resolve this with him later´´ Yoru looked upwards, the last rays of sunlight were hiding behind the top of the trees. ``This is bad´´ she said throwing her bag to the ground and moving her shoulders in a circular motion, ``Why?´´ Rick asked. ``After today, I only have two days to find more 6 earth crystals and bring them back´´ the huntress sighed, while she wanted to get the crystals, she also worried about leaving Derek alone, even more at night, maybe... ``Don´t you dare to go to the forest at night, it is not worth it. Your shouting would attract all the preys of the region´´ the blue knight joked walking away. ``Where are you going?´´ she asked, ``Sorry! But I need to carve that Rathalos or no payment for me. My camp is two days away from here, so I can´t help you this time. Tell Derek to go easy this time, he will feel a lot of pain if he tries to run or swing his greatsword. Good luck!´´ and with that Rick vanished between the trees.

``You are more worried about the bounty?! You bastard!´´ Yoru shouted but the hunter was too far away to hear. ``When we meet again, I will make him eat tha-ugh!´´ Yoru threw a punch to the side, she was losing control of her anger again. ``What are you going to do now?´´ Pasir asked, ``Wait, this forest is deadly at night´´ the huntress stored the earth crystals inside the red chest and then drank one of the potions Derek gave her before, but instead of throwing it away she put it back inside the bag. ``Weird, this time they didn´t give us rations….So they want us to carry heavy stones with empty stomachs, great´´ the huntress said annoyed. Yoru spotted a group of white mushrooms on the base of a tree and went for it, ``Aren´t these poisonous?´´ Pasir asked, ``No and I´m not going to eat them´´ she answered picking a handful of the fungus.

Derek awoke with a sweet aroma filling his nose, it was dark with a bright orange light coming from his side. ``So you´re awake! Just in time for dinner´´ Yoru said looking back as the hunter exited the tent. The huntress was tending to the flames of a very improvised bonfire, Pasir came from somewhere else holding little sticks on his pawns to thrown at the fire. The bonfire was composed of burning sticks of variable sizes surrounded by rocks with some on top to funnel the flames, various pieces of meat were cooking on top of the rocks.

``How long I slept?´´ Derek said rubbing his head, ``Six hours, maybe more judging by the Moon´´ Yoru answered moving a rock at the side of the campfire to throw more wood. ``What are you cooking?´´ the red hunter asked, ``Mosswine with mushrooms I got from its back tempered with green herbs´´ she answered. ``Where did you get everything?´´ Derek asked, ``The wood, herbs and stones I found around the area surrounding the camp. I caught some "special" mushrooms from a tree and used as bait to attract the mosswine´´ the huntress answered. ``That´s clever, generally we just use them for finding mushrooms. So, I suppose you were hunting them down for food when you were living here, right?´´ Derek asked. ``From time to time, when I couldn´t find Aptonoths´´ she answered, ``_That´s explains why many hunters were complaining about the lack of mosswines during gathering quests´´ _Derek thought.

When they finished dinner a Felyne came from the bushes and fell to the ground, ``Meow!´´ Pasir called running to aid his felyne friend. ``What happened to you?!´´ Derek crouched to inspect the cat, ``He…lp´´ the white cat said, his back moving up and down. Pasir turned the cat so his belly was facing the sky and closed his eyes in horror. Yoru stared at the fallen Felyne, she gritted her teeth, ``You were supposed to help us! My friend almost died!´´ she shouted. ``I know you must be angry, but we need to help him´´ Derek said. ``HE didn´t help us! If it wasn´t for Pasir, you would be dead!´´ the huntress argued pointing to the cat. ``Please…´´ the white cat begged but Yoru turned and walked away. ``What do we do?´´ Pasir asked, the red hunter looked at the gash on the cat´s stomach.

``Grab my bag´´ Derek ordered Pasir which the cat obeyed, a menacing shadow stood over the grey cat. Yoru walked with a wooden chest she found under one of the beds, ``YOU can´t even defend yourself! You are weak!´´ the huntress screamed crouching and putting the box aside. It was actually a medic kit used for first aid injuries filled with bandages and clean tissues to clean wounds. While a hunter used potions during battles or long trips, it was still necessary to patch the wounds as soon as possible and that was why there was always a medic kit stored in every camp.

``You can´t protect others if you can´t defend yourself!´´ the huntress continued getting a tissue and cleaning the blood with a bit more pressure she was supposed to use, Derek stood in silence while Pasir watched confused, why she was helping him while criticizing his work? ``You have to be strong and stealth!´´ Yoru forced the cat to drink a flask containing a green liquid, her last potion. ``And help others!´´ she bandaged the entire torso of the cat firmly, ``THIS is YOUR job!´´ she finished healing the cat and stomped her way to the bonfire, her back to the trio. ``What just happened?´´ Pasir asked rubbing his head, ``Yoru was saved many times by me and my friends in the past. She thinks she is weak for depending on others for everything, but it is because she isn´t prepared yet´´ Derek explained. ``Ugh! Meow…´´ the white cat whimpered trying to stand up, ``You need to rest´´ Pasir advised running to the campfire, Yoru was holding the last stick of meat.

Pasir stood in silence, ``No dinner for him´´ the huntress said staring at the fire. ``But´´ the cat protested, ``I said NO dinner!´´ Yoru faced the grey cat with such intensity that the he shrank with fear. ``I´m going to bed´´ she claimed entering the tent. Derek carried the Felyne and put him close to the bonfire, ``Don't listen to her, she is just worried´´ Derek explained, ``No…she is right, meow. I was the one that was supposed to save you, not the inverse. Thank you for working in my place´´ the Felyne said holding his chest. ``What happened to you?´´ the red hunter asked, ``I was observing you when you were mining, but…I heard a kelbi screech behind me so I went to check. Then, something attacked me´´ the white cat said. ``Did you see what it looked like?´´ Derek asked, ``When I turned I saw a shadow but then it hit me´´ the cat said closing his eyes to rest a bit.

``This is very familiar…´´ Derek said rubbing his chin, ``What do you mean?´´ Pasir asked, ``Kelbi are disappearing across the entire jungle, Rick and me couldn´t find the beast and now it seems our watcher was attacked by this "kelbi predator"´´ Derek explained, ``Do you think it is the same creature?´´ Pasir asked, ``Maybe, but I have no proof. But if it is the same creature, the Felyne will have to get more cautious as well´´ the red hunter said. ``But aren´t they supposed to be always careful?´´ the grey cat asked, ``Not that much. For some reason almost every monster ignore Felynes if they are just passing around. Maybe it is because it is not worth their time and energy. Even a velociprey will only attack a Felyne or Melynx if it is starving and even then, as you saw, they have some nasty bombs to protect themselves´´ the red hunter explained.

``Then why my tribe was always attacked by monsters?´´ Pasir asked, ``Your people always lived close to water pounds, lakes or some kind of water sources, this attracts herbivorous and consequently predators. Also, in a place with little food and water, creatures tend to go to extremes, even if it means to attack a group of ten hunters to get food´´ he explained. ``Are we safe?´´ Pasir asked, `` I really don´t know, there is something out that that is attacking for the sole reason to kill. Whatever monster attacked our friend here wasn´t interested in eating him, which is weird. You take him to the hut and get some sleep, I will stay for some time to make sure there aren´t any monster coming. Don´t worry, I already slept a lot´´ Derek said glancing to the asleep Felyne, the grey cat nodded and with some effort carried the white cat to the tent.

``What you did was dangerous! You have to tell others if you want to go with the hunters, I would have allowed! Meow!´´ Gray scolded the younger cat, his arms crossed. ``Give him a break, he saved my life´´ Derek interfered. They were on the main "plaza", many hunters and villagers stopped to watch the conversation. The group managed to get all the required earth crystals on the last hours of the third day and Yoru even managed to mine three more for herself. But when they arrived at the center of the village they were met by Gray and Shen.

``Is it true?´´ Shen asked, ``Yes, because someone else didn´t do his job´´ Yoru pointed to the injured white cat, he was still wearing bandages. ``What happened to you?´´ the elder man asked, ``I was attacked during my duty, but the huntress healed me, meow!´´ the Felyne answered. ``I should have left you to die´´ the huntress murmured under her breath, ``A Felyne was attacked? What kind of monster did that?´´ someone whispered and many whispers followed. ``You two, come to my house´´ Shen ordered using his staff to walk home.

The hunters in the plaza continued to talk with each other, each giving his opinion of what monster did that. Many were concerned over the Felynes, since they have saved their lives at least once during hunting quests. Others were worried about their own safety, if a Felyne was killed during a job, the hunter was in danger as well if a more powerful creature attacked, killing the hunter by lack of rescue. By any means, it was of best interest of all hunters to discover what kind of new monster was doing that and kill it immediately.

``And that´s all´´ Derek and Yoru said in unison, ``Hum…this will require some measures…´´ Shen rubbed his beard. ``Why don´t you just send hunters to kill it? Like a group of ten´´ Gray suggested, ``No…I don´t allow groups bigger than four´´ the elder said. ``Why? Meow?´´ the gray cat asked, ``All rules are created by specific reasons´´ Shen answered bitter. ``I have one more thing to add. I suspect the monster killing the kelbi and the one that attacked our Felyne are the one and the same. It is clever, it doesn´t leave footprints or have any nest. We don´t even know its size, characteristics or if it can breath anything´´ the red hunter said.

``Maybe it is a vengeful spirit killing weak creatures´´ Yoru said bluntly and serious, everyone looked at her, ``That was a joke´´ she said rolling her eyes. ``Despite if it is the same monster, I will have to contact Jumbo, they have to know so they can prepare themselves´´ Shen said. ``Prepare? How can we keep the Felyne safe?´´ Derek asked, ``I still don´t know…I will discuss with the Felyne chiefs and Gray over this. You can go now´´ the elder dismissed the hunters.

Noticing that the huntress was still in a bad mod Derek decided to lift her state of spirit. ``So, how much the job was going to pay?´´ the hunter asked, ``400 zen´´ she answered. ``Did you know? With a bit less than 6000 and with the materials you can pay the smith to forge a velociprey armor´´ he said, ``Why it is so expensive?´´ the huntress asked. ``It is hard to put together all the scales, hide and smith together with ore´´ the hunter explained, ``One more thing to learn´´ Yoru said sighing.

**(4 months later)**

Yoru looked back, a determined look on her face. ``Are you ready?´´ Derek asked holding the famed longsword with both hands while Rick did the same. The blade was too heavy for one of them, but together they managed to lift the blade without much trouble. The Rathalos hunter was wearing a blue variant of his former armor, a testament that shows his victory over many Azure Rathalos. Rick wore a white robe, with iron gauntlets and boots, a hood behind his back, that was a Khezu armor.

Meanwhile, Yoru wore a customized velociprey armor. It had iron pads on both shoulders, one with a "D" painted in red and a "R" painted in purple in the other. When asked about the unusual marks, the huntress responded that it symbolized that she carried their lives over her shoulder from now on instead of the inverse.

While the usual set had a scale hat to cover the head, the huntress chose a helm with a movable iron visor. Finally, the skirt was a bit longer without any opening. All the pieces were painted with a special green paint she bought from a travelling lady that couldn´t be washed away by water, the reason was to blend better since blue was a horrible color when hiding in the jungle.

It took several days, but Yoru learned the basics of crafting from the local blacksmith. She could repair her equipment fairly well and knew some things about smithing, like when a piece was forged in the wrong way or didn´t offer the adequate protection but still couldn´t create her own armor. Instead she requested the blacksmith to create a velociprey armor. The huntress almost spitted when she saw the pre-design of the hat, the leggings, skirt and pad. The hat could easily be thrown off by any prey, even with a rope around the neck. The leggings stopped a palm from her pelvis, leaving the area exposed, even more with that horrible skirt that somehow had an opening in the middle, you could literally see the start of her legs. The huntress was so furious with the design that the blacksmith had to accept her own design without receiving any extra payment.

After many months of arduous training, the strength exercises were coming to an end. From lifting weigh, running around, pushovers and marathons the body of the huntress was in shape and her stamina high. With this she soon managed to reach the third rank and slay her first Yian Kut Ku. Of course, Yoru didn´t want to wear an armor made of a clumsy, weak and coward Bird Wyvern. She opted for a velociprey armor, aiming to don the remains of the courageous velocidrome wih some other prey that she deemed worthy.

``Go on´´ Yoru said tensing her muscles, there were many kinds of supports made of ropes on her back in order to attach many kinds of weapons, including backpacks. The hunters attached the sword to her back and released the weapon. Yoru immediately fell on four, struggling to keep her arms stretched to avoid falling. ``Do you need help?´´ both hunters asked worried that she was going to get crushed. ``N-no!´´ she answered sweating. Slowly she raised her back upwards until it was fully erected, the huntress gasped for air. ``This is harder than I thought´´ Yoru claimed lifting one of her legs and putting it down, she placed her hand over her kneel to get a support. ``Ugh!´´ she put her other hand on the ground.

_``This is the last part of my training, to carry this for over six hours straight…every day starting from now…until I can carry this with easy and then…Mastering the sword´´ _she thought pushing her body to her limits. ``_I…will fulfill that promise´´ _she thought standing up, she breathed heavily with her head lowered. ``Raaaaaaaaaahhh!´´ she jerked her head upwards shouting at the top of her lungs, all the village stopped to hear the battle cry


	14. Ptiful pit traps

Rick tappped his ears with his hands, the shout was unbearable. ``Man, was that really necessary?´´ he asked, ``I guess so, adrenaline rushes through your body and for a time you have increased strength´´ the Derek answered not even bothering with the shout. Truth was, an armor created from Azure Rathalos´ materials had good isolation from loud noises like roars of many monsters, including human shouts. He was still able to listen well to normal speaking and mumblings with just a minor difference but the trade was worthy.

Yoru gave a deep breath and calmed down, the weight of the longsword was taking a good deal of concentration to keep her balance. She walked forward, her foot basically stomping the ground as she bit her lips. ``Congratulations!´´ Derek clapped his hands, he smiled even though the helm covered his face. ``And I bet the entire village knows you did something after that burp of yours´´ Rick joked, he was betting that the huntress couldn´t run after him. ``But I still can´t hold it´´ she protested, ``You will someday. There is no use in training techniques if you can´t travel with it in your back. By the way, I advise you to stay inside the village for some days until you can at least walk normally and then do some easy jobs while carrying it´´ the azure hunter said.

``Hunt with that thing on her back? Man, it is easier to carry me´´ Rick said. ``I will do it´´ Yoru said breathing deeply, ``Carry me?´´ Rick asked, ``Only to your grave. I mean, stay for a while´´ the huntress answered. ``I´m going t drink something´´ she said walking away, ``Understandable´´ Derek said waving his arm. ``Ahm, Derek´´ the white armored hunter called, ``Before I came here I was at the tavern. Yue was there awaiting for lunch´´ the hammer user said. ``Let them alone´´ the azure hunter said shaking his head, ``Are you sure? She will probably mock Yoru´s strength´´ Rick said. ``There isn´t much she can do with that thing on her back, besides it is better if they can get along´´ the Derek said. ``If something happens, I will tell that it was your idea´´ Rick warned.

Yoru stumbled over the door and almost fell to the ground getting the attention of everyone inside. There were many of Grey´s cats eating together with their hunters, all wearing colored iron plaques over their torsos and shoulders with helms over their heads. These "cats" were the Felyne Comrades.

After the incident during Yoru´s gathering quest, the council formed by Shen and other Felyne chiefs decided to create a league of trained Felynes so they could protect themselves and other Felyne watchers. The Felynes that chose to become Felyne Comrades were given special armors and specially crafted warpicks, staffs, small lances or anything they could hold. They initially received training from hunters but it soon became clear that they couldn´t swing weapons with grace like most humans.

It was at this time that Gray and his Felyne decided to help. Battle-hardened by their difficulty existence in the desert, Gray and his tribe developed some efficiency in combat with what they had which suited perfectly to other Felynes. Due to several requests from his family and friends, Gray allowed the tribe to become "Comrades" as well, but required that at least some of them remained to train others. To say that the Gray´s Felynes were happy is too little, they were so eager to finally help hunters during their quests that they celebrated with a party that lasted an entire day and their mood was happy ever since.

Unfortunately, the monsters soon understood that these Felyne Comrades were a threat to them and as such the creatures started to attack the trained Felynes. This put the Felyne watchers in danger and so they stopped defending them and instead helped hunters directly by fighting together. Extra caution was advised when Kelbi were spotted in the area and villagers had to pay more so they could get the precious Kelbi´s horns for their daily life and festivals. The lack of horns elevated their value by almost three times, creating a sort of challenge between hunters and a luxury for the ones who could afford. The Felynes designed to watch over the hunters were given even more rigorous sneaking training and had to change their habits if they wanted to survive. Fortunately there wasn´t any extra accident concerning the watchers but the cats were still cauious.

Yoru gave a deep breath as she looked around, her eyes searching for someone. ``Good morning, meow!´´ a voice came beneath her. ``Pasir, where is your warpick?´´ the huntress asked her Felyne Comrade. When Pasir became a Comrade, Yoru soon chose him as her personal partner during quests, the cat was hesitant at first but ended up accepting the offer. They eventually became friends, one saving the other and vice versa more than once but it didn´t stop the huntress from being severely rigorous with her partner. ``I will get it´´ the Felyne said half jumping half walking on four to an empty table, he grabbed his warpick with haste and went back to the huntress.

``Are we going to a job?´´ the cat asked. ``No, I just wanted to know if you had lost your weapon´´ Yoru said, once in a while she liked to test the Felyne to see if he was ready for any sudden attack, with the "Felyne Killer´´ on the jungle it was necessary to be wary of the surroundings if one wanted to be alive.

``What is that on your back?´´ Pasir asked leaning to the side, ``My longsword, I need to carry it around until I get used to its weight´´ she explained walking to the empty table her Felyne was using, the huntress ignored the look of other hunters. When she sat the bench cringed slightly with the sudden weight. ``Waiter!´´ she called and soon a man came to see her, ``Two glasses of milk´´ she ordered searching her pouch for some zen and offering to the waiter. ``But I don´t drink that much´´ Pasir said, ``The other is for me´´ she said gritting her teeth. ``Uh, sorry´´ the Felyne apologized, ``No, it is just the sword´´ she moved her elbows in a circular motion to feel better. The drinks arrived and the two started to drink.

Forgetting that she had her longsword on her back, Yoru moved her head upwards as she chugged, shifting her mass center as she leaned back. The result was that she fell on the ground and the milk splattered on her face. ``God dam it!´´ she cursed cleaning her face with the back of her hand. Pasir was on the verge of laughing but knew that he would suffer if he angered the huntress. However, not everyone was so smart.

Someone laughed amongst the crowd, Yoru tried to get up but the longsword was too heavy. ``I can´t…´´ the huntress struggled, more hunters laughed. ``Rah!´´ she turned to the side and stood on four, ``Shut up!´´ she shouted , her muscles burning with overuse. As soon as she got up everyone shut up, except for one:Yue. ``You can´t even get up, hahaha! And it is a milk drinker´´ the ore clad huntress mocked. ``You!´´ Yoru clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. She couldn´t harm the blue haired huntress or all the saved money she had would be in vain, she still had hopes of building that barrier around the village and wouldn´t ruin it again by the same reason.

``Ah forget it, you are not worth my time´´ Yoru waved her arm before sitting down, she used one hand to support her weight and the other to clean her face with a fabric given by a waiter. ``Are you okay? Meow?´´ Pasir asked, ``No, I want to break every last shard of ore of her armor and leave her on the jungle for a day´´ she stared at the rich huntress but then sighed. ``Sadly, I can´t do it now´´ the red haired woman placed her elbow on the table and supporter her head with her hand. ``Ugh´´ she grunted, the adrenaline was rushing out of her body making it more difficult to endure the sword.

Yue fumed with anger, she had intended to make Yoru angry, but somehow this time the "Greenprey" didn´t fight back. She still didn´t get her revenge from the first day they meet because the one eyed huntress was always doing jobs or training with company. She had to think of something else.

**(3 weeks later)**

**(Old Jungle)**

A kelbi was eating grass in the middle of the jungle, alone and unprotected. It walked closer to a bush to eat a fruit that was laying on the ground. When the deer like creature was about to bite the food a form erupted from the bush and launched itself into the kelbi, sending it to the ground. ``Hit it! Hit it!´´ Yoru shouted holding the creature down, her weight stopping the kelbi from escaping. Pasir appeared from inside the bush holding a pink colored ball, the huntress turned to the side, keeping the creature binded as it struggled to escape. ``Do it!´´ the woman shouted and the cat threw the ball at the monster, the ball exploded creating a pink splash on the creature´s stomach. Yoru left the creature flee, leaving a pink trail of paint behind. ``Arf, arf! I hope this works´´ she said breathing heavily on the ground

``Meow! Why someone didn´t think of this before?´´ Pasir asked, ``Don´t know, they are stupid for not trying´´ Yoru answered getting up slowly but steady. ``We need to hurry, before a hunter kills it´´ she said rubbing her back, the heavy longsword attached firmly in her back. The huntress ran the fastest she could towards the trail, which was like spaced footsteps. She gave deep breaths often and her feet were producing small thuds with every step.

Yoru turned around a tree and almost tripped when she saw a huge hole in front of her. ``Hey! Is someone there?! Please help me!´´ a familiar voice begged, the huntress peered inside the hole and saw Rick standing on the bottom, it was a five or maybe seven meters deep. ``Oh Yori its you! Can you help me? I am kinda of stuck here´´ the white clad hunter cupped his hands and called. ``Let me guess, you spent days digging this hole and forgot it was here?´´ the woman asked raising her visor, ``Basically´´ the hunter answered. ``I don´t have any rope with me and I need to track a kelbi before the Unknown gets it´´ she said running away. ``Wait! ´´ the hunter shouted, for a moment no one came.

``I almost forgot!´´ the huntress appeared on the opposite ledge, ``Will you help me?´´ Rick asked. ``Stay close to the wall, here´´ she pointed to the wall under her, the white hunter obeyed. ``Now what?´´ he asked, ``Stay here´´ she ordered raising and walking back. Yoru kicked the ground dislodging part of it, a mixture of earth, dirt and small rocks fell on Rick´s head. ``That´s for being so stupid! How could you fall for you own trap?!´´ the huntress shouted snarling and then shook her head. ``I will come back later, this is a promise´´ Yoru looked at her shoulder, where a "R" was stamped on her shoulder pad, before running away. ``Oh come on! I know I am stupid for falling here, but at least give me a break!´´ Rick shouted.

Yoru crouched behind a tree and spied, the kelbi was wandering around in an open clearing with a giant tree on the other side. The creature was trying to clean the paint with its mouth to not avail and even shook every so often trying to take off the pink liquid. The huntress spotted Pasir silently climbing a nearby tree and positioning himself. ``_Good, now let´s see if this works´´ _she thought shifting her weight, it was a miracle the deer creature didn´t hear she.

Meanwhile, Rick sat on the ground with arms crossed. ``How will I get out of here?´´ he mumbled looking at the walls, they were flat without any rock to grab to use as support. ``_Note to myself: Always leave a rope in the bottom of a pit trap´´ _he thought looking at the sky.Like a thunder, a large form jumped over the hole. All the hunter could define in this brief moment was that it had a tail and maybe it was black, though it could just be the shadow of what passed over him.


	15. Unknown

A bird sang on top of a branch, Yoru instantly moved her eyes to watch the small animal. A squire burst from a bush holding a coconut in its hands, eager to devour the food. The kelbi stared at the small animal eating and then to the bird before it returned to eat grass. ``_This is going to take a while´´ _the huntress thought sighing silently, it was very uncomfortable and tiring to stay crouched with all her "baggage" on her back.

**(Half hour later)**

The huntress stood on the same position, her legs and back itching like a whole horde of hornets was crawling over her body. ``_Must concentrate on the job…´´ _she kept saying to herself over and over again, despite this the sensation only grew stronger with each minute. She reached for a flask attached to her belt and carefully opened it, drinking as quietly as she could to not alert the kelbi. For not even a second Yoru took her eyes off the deer creature, for even a split second could prove to be a grave mistake.

Pasir´s ears raised, he moved his head slowly to the sides to identify the source of the sound he heard. The Felyne closed his eyes, doing his best to concentrate on the sound. It wasn´t coming from the sides, nor the front, the only possible way was…Behind! He jerked his head to the side but saw nothing, though he could hear a faint thud every few seconds. ``_Something is coming! I must warn Yoru!´´ _Pasir looked down at the bush where the huntress was hiding. ``_But if I go, then I will scare the kelbi´´ _the cat struggled with himself. ``_What if…´´ _the grey cat took off his helm and put it on the branch, he undid the nods that kept his chest plate in place and also put it down. With just his lance he casually climbed down the tree, not worrying or glancing at the kelbi and went to the bush where Yoru was hiding.

``What are you doing?! Go back to the tree!´´ she murmured not moving, ``I heard something, it´s coming from behind´´ the cat said. Yoru closed her eyes for a few seconds, it was true, she could faintly hear something. ``Stay here´´ she ordered barely moving her lips. Pasir looked at the huntress, not sure if that was the right thing to do. ``I will…´´ the woman started but stopped when she heard something behind her. Something growled behind the huntress, yet it was still too quiet for the kelbi to notice. Yoru held her breath, she had to be very quiet or it could easily be her death sentence.

Yoru could hear the creature´s breathing, it was deep and long but controlled. She could feel the wind being pumped in and out of the creature´s mouth, it was cold and came in a regular pace. She had two choices:wait for it to go after the kelbi or attack it now. Pasir was trembling, he couldn´t hold the urge to move and look back. Noticing the cat´s lack of control, the huntress stiffed her muscles and held her sword and shield tighter.

**(With Rick)**

Rick stood up at the border of the pitfall, dirty covered most of his armor and carving knife. There were several "holes" carved on the walls, large enough to be grabbed and used as supports. The white clad hunter gasped for air, it was times like these he hated to have a hammer attached to his back. ``_I will never mock Yoru and her sword ever again´´ _he thought crouching exhausted.

``Die!´´ Yoru shouted as she struggled to fend off the beast. The huntress was pinned down using her shield to bash a Rathian´s face again and again. The Green Wyvern had a long scar on its head, running down from the top to the tip of the nose. Pasir jumped into the monster´s tail with his spear on his back. Yoru blocked a bite, her arm shaking violently. Meanwhile Pasir climbed the wyvern´s back, the creature was focused on the huntress and didn´t notice him. He reached the spikes located at the connection of the neck and torso and grabbed his spear. The Felyne raised the small weapon in the air and brought down with all his strength, impaling the sensible area.

The Rathian roared as it shook to the sides, trying to get the grey cat out of its back. Yoru raised and ran to her sword that was laying on the ground, when she reached it the Queen of Earth launched the Felyne to the side. ``You ruined everything!´´ the huntress shouted bashing her sword at the side of her shield. The monster slowly turned to face the huntress. Both "fighters" roared as they charged at each other.

Yoru jumped to the side in the last second, dodging the monster by just a few inches. The huntress grunted when she hit the ground, it was still a bit painful to launch herself like this. Instead of falling down after rushing, the Rathian wavered its wings a bit forward and stopped mid-track, then the beast turned with a twist of its legs and rushed again. The huntress tried to regain her footing but she wouldn´t make it. Then a sudden flash exploded between the two combatants, blinding them. Pasir had thrown a flash bomb just in time, the Rathian lost focus and few into the ground while the huntress was left dizzy on the ground. ``Warn me if you are going to do that!´´ she scolded shaking her head. Yoru closed her eyes for a split second and opened again, her vision was blurry and things were duplicated. Slowly her vision came back, ``We need to flee! There is no reason to stay and fight! Meow!´´ Pasir tried to drag the huntress but she was too heavy.

**(Somewhere else)**

Rick crouched to analyze a kelbi carcass, it had a deep gash on the belly and blood was splattered around. He touched the blood and examined it, ``It is still fresh… It must be close´´ he mumbled, ``Wait…is this paint?´´ he took another glance at the blood, part of it was mixed with a pink paint. ``_She said she was hunting the Unknown…very clever´´ _he thought looking around, there were some drops of colored blood marking a path. Rick raised and stretched his arms then he heard a faint bang noise from behind. When he looked he recognized the dimming light of a flash bomb. ``It seems she got company´´ the white hunter mused but then glanced to the blood trail, ``_But it goes to the other way…´´ _he thought following the bloody path.

**(Clearing)**

Yoru shook her shoulder, dismissing the grey cat. ``No, this ends here and now´´ she readied herself to face the Rathian once more. The huntress bit her lip while the creature snarled, but then a powerful roar echoed through the sky. The Queen of Earth looked skywards, another roar filled the clearing, this time louder. The beast looked at the huntress and then jumped, flying skywards and then forward, going away. ``Why?! Everytime!´´ Yoru cursed.

**(Somewhere else)**

``I still say!´´ Derek shouted running through the jungle, he was carrying a giant egg of a Wyvern in his hands. A Rathalos broke through the trees behind Derek, smoke coming from its mouth. ``It is NOT WORTH IT!´´ he screamed.

**(Clearing)**

``Dam it!´´ Yoru cursed stomping the ground, Pasir kept distance to avoid injuries by part of the woman. ``The kelbi got away and now that skinny green lizard fled too!´´ she ranted walking around. ``Wait, meow! We can still track it!´´ Pasir called crouching to inspect the ground, the drops were still fresh. ``I am still amazed by how much time this paint can remain fresh´´ the Felyne said, ``How much time we still have before it dries?´´ the huntress asked approaching the cat. ``Fifiteen minutes, a little more maybe, meow!´´ Pasir answered. Yoru calmed down, ``We must hurry, let´s go´´ she said running away. ``Wait! I need to get my armor back!´´ the Felyne said running to the tree he was hiding before, Yoru tapped her foot on the ground. Barely a minute later the cat returned, ``Now we have fourteen minutes, let´s go´´ she ordered following the trail.

**(With Rick)**

Rick suddenly turned to the side, there was nothing there besides the jungle. ``I swear I heard something…´´ he whispered, then he heard something coming from behind, like something heavy stomping its way to him. The hunter prepared his hammer to strike the upcoming foe, hisveins pulsing with strenght. Rick instinctively moved the weapon to strike but when he saw it was Yoru he tried to stop it. However, the weapon was too heavy and he wouldn´t make it, in a swift and instinctive movement the woman raised her shield up and blocked the attack, being launched to the ground. ``Ah!´´ she shouted falling down, most of the spikes of her shield were broken by the impact. ``Yoru! I´m sorry! I thought you were a monster´´ the hunter apologized offering his hand, ``Why you thought it?!´´ she asked irritated, taking off the broken spikes from her shield.

``Well, you were stomping your way, have green armor and spikes on the shield. That´s pretty much a Rathian´´ Rick answered, ``Sorry about the shield, I will pay the repairs when we get back, ok?´´ he offered. Yoru was fuming, that shield was Derek´s gift when she had returned to the village but…Rick broke it and was willing to pay so…``Fine, you better pay it´´ the red haired huntress returned to follow the track, ``How did you get out and why are you here?´´ she asked, ``Made some holes in the walls and climbed up. I found a painted kelbi carcass and decided to follow it, is it your doing?´´ the white clad hunter asked. ``Yeah, but I have only five minutes left before the paint dries and this…weight is slowing me down´´ she bragged moving her shoulders. ``Need my help?´´ he asked even if he knew the answer. ``No´´ she tapped her finger on her shoulder, ``I was fighting a Rathian but it fled from the battle, be wary´´ she advised running away. ``A Rathian? This is not a Rathian´s territory, unless it is a new one. Hum…´´ the hunter mumbled placing a finger on his chin.

Yoru panted, she was exhausted. ``Where is it? The paint is almost gone and dry, where it could have gone?´´ she asked to herself, ``Look over there!´´ Pasir said and the huntress raised her head. There were some small drops of paint and blood going from the base and branches of a large tree, it was sufficiently big for a big wyvern like a Yian Kut Ku to land. ``Can you climb it?´´ the huntress asked and the Felyne obeyed. Soon Pasir reached the top of the tree, ``There is no monster here! Meow! We lost it!´´ he shouted. ``Can you see any signs? Blood? Meat? Corpse?´´ the woman asked, ``Yes! There is a dead kelbi here meow! Maybe it drags the bodies to eat them here!´´ the cat answered. ``Bring the body down!´´ the huntress ordered, the Felyne pushed the carcass with his hands, ``Ugh! It stinks!´´ Pasir bragged as the body fell down.

``Agh! It is worst than when Haikan threw himself into a pile of dung! Ugh!´´ Yoru tried to grab her noise, but forgot that she was wearing a helm. ``I am starting to regret my decision´´ she said waving her hand to dissipate the foul smell. ``It looks fresh, maybe it´s from yesterday´´ the huntress checked grabbing a bitten bone. ``Fresh?! How it is fresh?! Meow!?´´ Pasir argued, ``Rain. Things don´t smell as bad in the desert because they dry faster´´ she explained. ``So that means it rests in the trees to eat peacefully, nice strategy…´´ Yoru praised, ``Then why it didn´t drag our kelbi?´´ the Felyne asked. ``Rick was ahead of us, maybe he scared it. That bumbling idiot´´ the woman sighed, though she smiled afterwards. ``Well, at least we discovered something´´ Pasir said shrugging, ``I guess so…´´ the red haired woman looked at her shield.

**(A day later)**

**(Kokoto-Tavern)**

``So, did you find anything about Unknown?´´ Derek asked offering a haunch of chicken to the huntress. ``Actually, yes´´ Yoru answered, every hunter stopped talking to hear the conversation. She looked around and noticed everyone was curious. ``I had marked a kelbi with a paintball so I could track it. I was distracted by a Rathian but managed to find the paint trail. Something killed the kelbi, but it left a path of blood and paint behind. I followed the trail to a large tree, there was another dead kelbi on top of it but no signal of the creature. In short words, it eats and rests on top of trees´´ she finished biting the haunch. ``And how can you be sure that it is the Unknown?´´ Elvis asked walking closer to the table. ``How many creatures live in the jungle that sleeps on top of trees?´´ Yoru asked. ``Well…fair enough´´ the hunter said sitting down. ``But if it rests on trees then that means...´´ Elvis left the rest in the air, ``…that it probably doesn´t has a good protection or it would just sleep inside caves or that it fears some of the jungle predators´´ Derek completed.

``But we still don´t know what it looks like´´ Yoru sighed, ``You discovered more than everyone did, don´t be hard on yourself´´ Derek comforted. ``Dam you Rick!´´ she bragged punching the table with her fists, ``What he has to do with this?´´ Elvis asked. ``He was ahead of me! The carcass was left unfinished so he probably scared the monster away!´´ she cursed gritting her teeth.

The door flung open, a cloaked figure standing up with blood dropping from the belly. Rick was holding his stomach, a grave wound visible even from afar, his armor was ragged in various places and his arms had long cuts. ``Unkown…´´ he said falling down to the ground, three black spikes were craved on his back. ``Rick!´´ Yoru rushed to aid her friend, forgetting all the anger she had for the hammer user.


	16. Blood

``RICK!´´ the huntress shouted, sweat all over her face. She was sitting on a bed inside a tent, a dimming light coming from the open entrance. ``Meow!´´ Pasir jumped, he was sleeping on a small bed made for Felyne Comrades, it was placed closely to the group of beds which were designed for hunters. `` A dream?´´ the huntress asked looking around, ``Are you ok? Meow?´´ Pasir asked rubbing his eyes, ``Meow!´´ the Felyne accidently touched his eye with the fur of his pawn, causing irritation. ``Come with me Pasir, we are going to hunt´´ the huntress said getting off the bed and going to a wardrobe where she stored her equipment. ``Why? We already spent our time hunting Unknown and lost it. Tomorrow we will have to go back to Kokoto´´ the cat protested grabbing a flask of water and using it to clean his eyes.

``I had a nightmare, I want to make sure it doesn´t become reality´´ she said putting on her armor. ``But it was just a nightmare!´´ Pasir protested tired, he received a cold glare from the helmless huntress. ``Meow! What you dreamed about?´´ the Ferlyne said lowering to the ground and making a reverence. ``In my dream Rick died. We know Unknown is somewhere inside the jungle and so is Rick´´ Yoru went to her longsword, the blade was covered by a black sheath made of reinforced and tempered iron so it could hold the slim but heavy weapon. The huntress´s knees bent a bit when she grabbed the sword and a little more when she put it on her back.

``Sometimes I ask why I stick up with you´´ the grey cat said putting on his armor, ``If you want you can stay, but of course, we don´t know if Unknown is out there coveting Felyne flesh´´ the huntress said serious. ``Alright, I will go with you´´ the cat said grabbing a spare spear since his last one was still on the Rathian´s back. ``There is a lot to gain, the bounty is 50 000 zen, it will make hunts safer for hunters and Felynes, discovering of a new monster and kelbi horns will be cheap again. God! I hate all this competition for horns´´ Yoru said drinking from a flask of water. ``Or we will be killed ´´ Pasir protested. ``Pasir, how many humans died to protect your family?´´ the huntress asked, ``Meow…´´ the cat shifted his legs uneasy, his eyes lowered as he gazed at the ground.

``Now you see, why I can´t always be dependent on them´´ Yoru said putting her helm on. ``If we happen to come across Unknown and I am in trouble, you run straight back to Kokoto with Rick. Tell them the attacks, skills and abilities of the monster´´ the huntress checked her armor, everything was in good shape(except for the shield), ``Meow…I will do it´´ the Felyne said hesitantly. ``I swear. If I find out that Rick is safe I am going to crack his spine in half´´ the red haired huntress cracked her knuckles. Pasir sweat dropped at the statement.

Rick looked over his shoulder probably for the tenth time that night, even at his camp with a bonfire lit he was still unsure. ``_There is something there…I can feel it´´ _the hunter thought eating from a packet of ration. ``YOU BASTARD!´´ a very angry huntress rushed from the bushes and hit the man straight in the jaw, sending him to the ground. She jumped over his body and used her weight to keep him down.

``Please! Have mercy!´´ Rick begged blocking a punch, only to receive a hit from the other hand. ``I can´t believe I was worried for nothing!´´ Yoru breathed heavily, her lungs working in an accelerated pace. ``Wait? What?´´ the hunter asked but received a slap from the huntress. ``I thought you were in danger!´´ the woman exclaimed but then she saw something with the corner of her eyes, with a grunt she stood on her feet . ``I heard something!´´ Yoru said raising her shield and inspecting the perimeter of the trees. ``Uh? What?´´ Rick rolled to the side and went for his hammer that was close to the bonfire. The hunters joined together, Yoru moved so she was back to back with Rick.

Pasir!´´ the huntress called, the Felyne soon emerged from the trees and joined the hunters. ``Something is close, I can smell it. I think I know this smell from somewhere but I am not sure…´´ the grey cat stated raising his spear. Together they stood still, Pasir sniffing from time to time. ``There!´´ Yoru pointed to the left but when the others looked there was nothing. ``It is circling us´´ the huntress said trying to localize the monster but then something struck her very soul.

Two eyes, red as blood, sprouted from between the trees. The huntress trembled, like a switch turned on her emotions changed from anger to fear. ``What´s wrong?´´ Rick asked looking back, he could hear the huntress´s equipment shaking and making clicking noises. The white clad hunter peered further and noticed two red eyes moving slightly between the trees. He immediately turned to face the monster.

A pack of black spikes were launched from the trees, hitting Rick straight in the chest. The hunter fell down to the ground, ``No…no…´´ the huntress mumbled still stoned by fear. `` Rick! Meow!´´ Pasir tried to take the spikes off the hunter´s armor, they were stuck but no blood was coming from the wounds. A foreign roar echoed, powerful and loud, as the monster finally prepared to charge.

The red eyes moved, a black form erupted from the darkness and lunged at the huntress. Yoru gazed at the creature´s head as the monster stood over her. It was somewhat felyne but had a more savage appearance. Two pointed ears, red marks around the eyes and a mouth full of sharp razor teeth. The monster reared back, raising its large arm to claw the huntress in half, the wing-like structure casting a shadow over the woman. Instinctively Yoru raised her shield, the impact was tremendous, making her arm numb. ``No! No! Go away! Go away!´´ she said scared as the monster hit her shield again and again.

Rick grabbed one of the spikes with his hand and tried to pull it off, he gritted his teeth as he did so. When he looked to the side he saw Yoru on the ground, a black creature only slightly smaller than a Rathian standing over her. The creature´s arms seemed to be connected to some kind of wings and a long and large spiked tail was flaying behind. The monster was very similar in structure to a monster foreign in these parts, the terrible Tigrex that lived in desert areas and snowy mountains, yet it was different in some aspects. ``YORU! You need to use the…´´ the man stopped, ``_The spikes are broken….´´ _he thought realizing he had broken the spikes when they were searching for Unknown. The hunter raised, the spikes pierced his armor, but the steel and scales barely stopped them from reaching his flesh.

``That´s a Tigrex! We need to…´´ Pasir exclaimed running towards the beast, with a swing of the giant tail the creature launched a spike which missed the Felyne by inches, Pasir fell to the ground surprised. ``Over here your scum!´´ Rick shouted rushing with his hammer in his hands, the monster jumped back to avoid the attack leaving an awestruck huntress in the ground. ``Why are you acting like this?! I need your help!´´ Rick said to the huntress. ``Red e-eyes, spik-e´´ Yoru muttered shaking, ``_A horn you say?´´ _the hunter´s own words echoed in his mind, ``_It is not a bulfango, The wound is straight´´ _Derek words filled his mind. ``_Red eye´´_ he thought remembering the huntress´s description about the monster that attacked her.

The hunter´s senses returned to reality as he was confronted by a monster jumping at him with claws extended. The man jumped back as the creature landed at his last position. The "Black Tigrex" turned a bit to the side and brought its tail forward, Rick ducked as the member passed close to his head. Before he could react the monster raised its tail upwards and prepared to slam it down. ``_Crap´´_ Rick thought, the monster was way too fast for his battle style.

``NO!´´ a female voice shouted as a bloody tail fell on the ground. The monster roared and twitched in pain as blood oozed from the wound. Yoru stood in front of Rick, her hands shaking as she held her longsword with both hands diagonally. The huntress kneeled, the sword´s blade touched the ground. `` Thanks!´´ Rick thanked the woman but then he noticed she was trembling. The Black Tigrex recovered from the missing limb, it roared towards the sky in anger. As soon as the roar ended, the creature´s eyes were started to leave trails of red light behind. ``We need to flee! Meow!´´ Pasir urged pulling Rick´s leg, Yoru left the sword on the ground and jumped to the side as the monster jumped at her.

``We can´t leave her!´´ Rick said trying to dismiss the cat, ``It´s her orders!´´ Pasir protested pulling the hunter. The monster knocked out the shield from Yoru´s arm, the huntress fell on the ground, a faint sobbing could be heard under her helmet. She noticed her friends standing on the other side, ``Go!´´ she screamed but fear troubled her words. The monster was coming closer, snarling with bloody eyes. Yoru picked her sword from her back, her only weapon at that moment, and held in front of her.

``_I must kill it! It is my job! I must do it!´´ _Yoru thought to herself forcing her arms to move, she slashed the creature´s head but it did little more than to anger it. The monster went for a bite but the huntress suddenly shouted in fear, the beast backed off shaking its head. ``_An opening!´´ _Rick thought as he charged at the monster, he stood just a foot away and raised his hammer. ``Die!´´ he slammed down the weapon at the monster´s left arm. The creature roared in pain but before the hunter could strike again it jumped back to get terrain.

The monster looked at its injured arm and tried to move it, noticing that it was still responding the creature turned its attention to the hunter. The "Black Tigrex" roared, forcing the hunters to cover their ears.

**(Kokoto)**

``Excuse me´´ Elvis spoke, he was inside one of the village´s libraries wearing only a simple orange shirt and green pants. ``What is a hunter searching this time in the night?´´ a woman asked behind a wooden counter, by her expression the hunter deduced she was pretty much bored, an open book indicated her hobby. ``I would like to see the village´s recordings of famous weapons and hunters´´ he said, ``Come with me ´´ the maiden said walking away, the hunter obeyed.

They passed through a lot of corridors, filled shelves and occasional tables. It was maybe two in the morning and so the library was pretty much dead. ``Here´´ the woman pulled a book from shelf and gave to the hunter. ``Thank you for the help´´ Elvis said accepting the book, ``Ìf you need anything else, tell me. It is BORING to stay here all night and.. ´´ the maiden said. Before the woman could brag even more the hunter came with something, ``Can you bring me some coffee?´´ the man asked sitting down. The maiden blinked, ``Uh, yes I will do it´´ she said turning to fulfill the request. ``_The last thing I want is another woman bragging and shouting in my ear. Yoru is bad enough already´´ _the hunter shuddered. ``_Let´s start with the hunter, Gray said his nickname was Nightfury if I am correct´´ _he thought going to the heroes section.

**(10 minutes later)**

``Weird, there is nothing about him´´ Elvis said taking a sip of coffee, ``Is there another book? A more recent one maybe?´´ he asked to the maiden which was standing at his side. ```No, this book is updated every time someone new is recognized as an exemplar hunter´´ she answered shaking her head. ``When was the last update excluding Ignavus?´´ the hunter asked. ``A decade ago, if I´m not mistaken´´ the woman answered. ``Tell me about it´´ the medic said putting some coffee into a new cup and offering to the woman.

**(Jungle)**

Rick screamed in pain, the monster had struck its bladed wing into his torso. The man fell down as blood poured from the cut. ``Rick!´´ Yoru shouted running after the hunter, the monster jumped back and turned slightly to the side. Before the huntress could reach her friend the "Black Tigrex" jumped at her, forcing the woman to jump back to avoid the attack. The monster stood over Rick´s body but gratefully it was more interested in Yoru. The huntress boiled with anger, it was only a matter of time before Rick dies of blood loss and with the monster over him, she couldn´t drag him to a safe place.

Images flashed inside her mind, images of her nightmare, of Rick pierced by spikes and bleeding to death. It wasn´t a dream anymore, all turned into reality. Even though Yoru didn´t admit, she considered Rick one of her closest friends. It was just that he annoyed her to the point of rage outbursts and occasional physical retaliation.

Yoru gritted her teeth, her fear was going away as hatred for increased. ``You…´´ she murmured clenching her fist, she noticed her longsword on the ground and crouch to get it. ``I will kill you!´´ she shouted rushing towards the creature. She spun her body around, the blade hit the monster´s head like a hammer since it was still dull and rusted. The Black Tigrex recovered in just a few instants and dodged the next hit by jumping over the huntress. Yoru moved her head to follow the monster, when it landed it tried to slam its tail into the ground but the spiked member had been cut by the huntress. She just gave a step back and moved her sword into a horizontal position, ``Raah!´´ she flung her sword forward, it was a sluggish move and due to the dullness of the blade it just bounced of the creature´s hide.

Yoru lost her balanced and fell to the ground as the monster turned to face her once again. But the huntress only snarled and got up again. The monster roared, Yoru´s ears ringed, she fought the urge to cover them with a shout of her own. Surprisingly the monster was the one that backed off shakings its head to as if to reduce the pain. Something was forming inside Yoru´s head, despite all the anger filling her mind. It was just a concept, a faint idea at best or perhaps just an urge to let her emotions out. She couldn´t tell the difference, all she wanted to do now was…**SCREAM!**


	17. Nightfury

**Chapter revised. Just grammar corrections(What I could find,anyway…)**

``AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!´´ Yoru shouted at the top of her lungs. She screamed for her life, for Rick´s life, for the hatred she felt for the creature, for all the things this beast have done to her village. It was a roar powered by emotions mixed to form a vocal expression of one being. It was loud, long and menacing like a Monoblo´s roar and for the dark beast, it was unbearable.

The "Black Tigrex" cringed in pain, Yoru raised her longsword at the top of her head and charged at the creature as she continued to scream. She brought down the heavy blade downwards, hitting the head so hard that it clashed into the ground. The huntress lowered her sword and approached the creature. Fast as lighting the beast raised and threw her aside with its powerful claws

Yoru rolled across the ground for a bunch of times before stopping, she tried to rise using her hands as support but her stomach hurt really bad. ``No! I won´t let you!´´ the huntress shouted biting her lips and holding her belly with one of her hands, some drops of blood fell from the wound. She screamed in pain as she got up, her armor was broken in the midsection, revealing a scratched belly. She grabbed the sword from the ground and pointed it towards the approaching monster.

The "Black Tigrex" rushed and extended its right arm forward in a slice motion, the huntress jumped back and blocked the other arm when the creature attacked again, a glint of yellow sparks came from the sword as the bladed wing made contact. Yoru walked backwards as she moved the heavy longsword left and right to block the attacks of the beast, each block making she grunt. Yoru felt something hit her back, she instructively jumped to the side as the monster sliced the tree in half with just a swing of its arms. Yoru jumped with her sword raised, she aimed at the monster´s wing.

The monster quickly jumped to the side but the huntress made a slow but calculated spin and so when the creature landed it received a devastating blow to the face. The woman gave a step back and leaned back, she was gathering her strength to the killing blow. The "Black Tigrex" shook its head, one of the red eyes had faded and now a scar took its place. ``This is the end!´´ she shouted bringing the weapon down.

**(Somewhere else)**

Dererk cried in pain, someone had hit his head. ``Was that really necessary?!´´ he said rubbing his head, ``Please! Help! Meow!´´ a voice called, the hunter looked around and then down. ``Pasir? What are you doing here?´´ he asked still half asleep. ``We found it! We found! It's a Black Tigrex! Unknown is a Black Tigrex! Rick didn´t want to hear me so I…´´ the Felyne said the fastest he could, ``Wait, tell me again. I can´t understand if you talk this fast´´ the man ordered while jumping off the bed and going to his wardrobe. ``Yoru is fighting Unknown! It is like a Black Tigrex but it has a spiked tail, meow! Rick is helping but it is too fast!´´ Pasir said gasping for air. ``A Tigrex?! But their habitats are far from the forest! It must be a new subspecies´´ Derek said grabbing his Azure Rathalos armor. ``Where are them?´´ the hunter asked while wearing the equipment, ``Five miles from here´´ the cat said almost falling down in exhaustion.

``There are two flasks on that stand, drink one of them´´ Derek advised while locking some bits of the joints. ``What is this?´´ the grey cat asked grabbing said recipient, from what he could see with his darkness adapted eyes it had a green, maybe yellow liquid that he didn´t recognize. ``It is a Power Juice, it recovers your stamina and let you run for an hour or two without even breaking a sweat´´ the hunter explained locking the last strap of his armor. ``That will give us the energy to get there in time´´ Derek said filling a bag with potions and bandages, Pasir drank the Power Juice, ``Meow! It tastes like raw meat´´ the cat complained but soon felt his energy coming back. ``Can you carry it for me?´´ the azure hunter asked offering the bag.

**(Rick´s camp)**

Yoru stared at the Moon, a giant lifeless body was laying on the ground, blood dripping from both combatants, the victorious and the defeated. Despite the blade´s rust, the longsword still had a slightly sharpness, cutting the beast´s head by the use of sheer use of force and pressure. The "Black Tigrex" was surely dead, the skull had been smashed into pieces by the impact of the weapon. ``_I did it…I did it! I can´t believe I did it!´´_ she thought leaving the sword on the ground and kneeling in awe.

Yoru heard a faint groan from behind, ``Yo-ru…´´ a voice called weakly. The huntress saw Rick covering his chest with his arm, bloody dripped from his mouth and the ground was stained where the red liquid splashed over. ``Don´t talk´´ she advised rushing into the tent, she searched quickly for a medic kit under the bed. Her wound stung when she stretched her hand to reach the box. The woman screamed in pain when she grabbed the box, her muscles were over stretched causing a lot of pain. Gasping for air she held the medic kit with both hands as she exited the tent and went to her friend.

``It is useless…´´ Rick mumbled, ``No, it is not! I will heal you, I just need to clean the blood and…´´ the huntress started but was interrupted. ``My organs are bleeding…I won´t make it…´´ the man closed his eyes for a second before opening again, the young woman was cleaning his wounds despite the fact he was going to die. ``Stop and hear me…´´ Rick said spitting blood, the huntress obeyed. ``It is all my fault! I should have fought earlier! I could have saved you!´´ the huntress cried. ``It is not your fault…´´ he said looking at his own stomach, it was quite a mess. ``There should be a sum of money inside my house, you can…´´ he started, ``I don´t care about money or that shield now! I just want you alive!´´ she sobbed, the man chuckled. ``That can´t be helped…I think my time is running out…It was fun, Nightfury…´´ and with that the man closed his eyes.

``Don´t you dare! Don´t go! The light is bad!´´ Yoru slapped his faces several times, she pressed her index and middle finger on the man´s neck, there was no pulse. Yoru lowered her arms and remained in silence. Then she jerked her head upwards and screamed, it was loud and feral but at the same time carried with sadness and grief.

**(Some time later)**

Derek stopped when he reached a clearing, the Sun was timidly shinning in the horizon, bringing light to the jungle bit by bit and with it a new day after a bloody night. ``Yoru!´´ he spotted the huntress on the ground, she was leaning over something, no, someone. ``Oh no…´´ he muttered rushing to aid the huntress together with the Felyne. ``Pasir, grab the flasks´´ he ordered crouching. ``It is too late…´´ the huntress muttered with the face buried on Rick´s chest, she raised her head revealing a blood stained face with marks of dry tears. Her helm was somewhere on the ground after she had thrown it in anguish.

``He is dead´´ Pasir confirmed after checking the hunter´s life signs like pulse and heart beating. Derek looked at his friend´s body, the gash on his stomach was nasty but his face was calm and serene. ``_He had no regrets_´´ Derek thought removing his helm, he prayed for his friend in silence. Yoru stood up, ``You are hurt´´ the azure hunter said after he noticed the scratch on her belly. ``I will live´´ she answered walking away, she grabbed the longsword from the ground with both hands and stared at the corpse of the kelbi assassin. ``It really looks like a Tigrex…but it is different. A new species, surely…´´ Derek said walking closer to see the body. ``Let´s go back to Kokoto, we need to bury him…´´ the woman said emotionless. ``…and bring IT back to be dismembered pierced and cut into dozens of pieces! ´´ the huntress shouted angry slicing the air with the heavy sword, the blade landed with a thud but the woman simply lifted it and put it on her back. ``Impossible…´´ Pasir mumbled astonished.

**(Kokoto) **

A short bellowing sound echoed through the village, signaling to be aware, all the hunters stopped what they were doing so they could hear what kind of note would follow. Three short notes were heard, indicating that a new kind of monster had been brought to the village. The village´s horn system worked by level of urgency, less notes meant more important messages. Five for more trivial things like long awaited deliveries like resources and stuff, four for an important meeting, three for new monsters, two for an urgent messenger like a calling of help from another village and finally a long note for the most important:The village was under attack. There was a pause of a second for each blow so the villagers and hunters could count right with little space for mistakes.

Of course, there were several other notes that the guards could play, but they were used for specific warnings which were generally combined in times of need to distinguish from the regular warnings. The five common warnings were taught to the people of Kokoto as soon as possible and not even the most stupid or irresponsible ones dared to play the horn for fun, for the punishment involved prison, banishment or if it was a really serious cause:death(Although this hasn´t happened in centuries). These sentences were applied regardless of position and status and only the kids received a lesser treatment which was cleaning gardens, houses and other services for months if not a whole year.

An immense carriage made its way to the entrance of the village. A black body was tied with ropes on top of it as the vehicle was culled by two aptonoths. Yoru pulled a litter as Derek pushed from behind, a white blanket covered the top. Soon a group of hunters arrived excited to see the newest kind of threat, followed by their Feline Comrades. ``Don´t tell me´´ Elvis said looking at the mass of blackness that was the monster, the huntress had her helm on and so all they could see was a nod. ``Unknown is dead´´ Derek confirmed as he saw the confused look of Elvis. Cheers were heard and palms clapped as the hunters admired the fallen creature, it looked like a Tigrex, a four stars monster that was considered fearsome even among experienced hunters. The huntress looked back at the azure hunter, ``Take care of it´´ she said and then started to push the litter onward. The woman remained silent as she walked through the crowd, ``Wait, what is in the cart?´´ Elvis asked coming closer. The red haired woman stopped and lowered her head, ``Rick´´ she finally mustered enough strength to talk.

**(Hours later)**

It was night at the village of Kokoto, the sky was clear and many stars filled the endless sea of blue with their light. A ceremonial bonfire was lit on an open field of grass and flowers, Rick´s body was placed on top of a wooden tablet with his armor and hammer, Shen stood at the side of the adorned bonfire with a torch on his hand. ``It is with great sadness that I say that one of our hunters has fallen´´ the elder said to a group of people round him. Yoru, Derek and a few other hunters were present, though some weren´t even good friends with the fallen man. Rick´s attitude was seemed as clumsy and sometimes stupid by other hunters, but in the end it was what he done for the village that counted, for he was a hunter nonetheless. A couple was crying in front of the group, they were Rick´s parents, common villagers that had their son taken away.

``Rick was my best friend, he was clumsy yet worked hard for the village. The truth is: it was our rivalry that made me push my limits to be what I am today. Some of you may not know, but he was serious during jobs, instead of his attitude inside the village. He was also a specialist in poison and his knowledge saved me once in the past. I will miss Rick and his happy go on life. May he find peace in the afterlife ´´ Derek said standing in front of the unlit bonfire, the hunter walked torwards the elder and grabbed the torch. Derek looked back at Yoru, she was immobile in the crowd, she wore a light yellow shirt with cream short pants, bandages covered her arms and stomach, though it was hidden under the shirt. ``_I hope she surpass this´´ _he thought as he walked torwards the bonfire, with a tear in his face he lit the fire. The group watched as the flames danced on the sky.

Yoru watched the flames fading away, only she and Rick´s parents were still on the field. She turned to the couple, `` I am sorry for what happened´´ she said with half closed eyes. ``You are the one our boy was training?´´ the woman asked, ``Yes…´´ the huntress answered looking down. ``But my training was not enough to save him, I beg you forgiveness´´ the red haired kneeled and buried her face in the ground. ``You were with him?´´ the father asked furrowing his brow, ``Yes, I came to guarantee his safety, but we were ambushed by the creature we call Unknown. It was the creature I was training to kill, the one I was supposed to defeat, yet I hadn´t the courage to do it…My lack of courage left Rick alone to face the beast and when I recovered my wits…he was already fatally injured. I killed the monster, but Rick bled to death, it is my fault he is not amongst us anymore´´ the huntress answered.

``If you had the strength to kill it, why were you scared?´´ the father asked, thinking she was just a coward. ``Because…it was the same beast that nearly killed me months ago´´ she answered ashamed. The parents were going to say something when Derek appeared out of nowhere. ``Before you judge my friend, keep in mind that we, hunters, are trained to know that there could be a day where we face a monster we can´t defeat. Actually, Rick saved me from a monster I had killed several times in the past. Every encounter is always different and you never know what can happen´´ the azure hunter said standing at Yoru´s side.

``You should know that Rick knew this, yet dreamed of fighting stronger creatures. If you don´t approve his way of life, then go have another son´´ the red haired woman looked at her friend as he walked away. The couple was left speechless, Yoru looked at them awaiting their answer. The parents looked at each other and then to the huntress, it was clear she was suffering as much as them. ``We forgive you´´ they finally spoke. ``Thank you´´ the huntress bowed.

**(Next day)**

Here isyour payment´´ Shen said seriously, it was a piece of paper that should be brought to one of the ladies of the tavern. ``Even this much, is not worth a life´´ the huntress said looking at the numbers, the bounty had risen to 60 000 zen. Her armor had been fully repaired and for training porpoises she wore it with the longsword most part of the day, except for the helm because it was somewhat difficult to breath. ``I know how you feel´´ the elder stated sighing, ``You lost someone before?´´ Yoru asked. The leader walked towards a wall where a handcrafted necklace was hung. ``Decades ago, I lost my wife to a dragon. That time I was a monster hunter myself´´ Shen said, ``I hunted the dragon down and killed it, but of course vengeance don´t bring the dead back. I retired, became chief of the village and created some rules so the hunts are safer for other hunters to come´´ Shen explained.

``I suppose you won´t retire, will you?´´ Shen asked turning, ``No, that I can assure you´´ Yoru answered. ``Don´t blame yourself for what happened, it will only bring you pain´´ the elder advised, ``But I could have saved him! I was there!´´ she protested, ``Fear is one of the greatest enemies a hunter will ever face, because it doesn´t matter the preparation, you will only know during a dire situation. Fear for your life, for a friend´s life, or something else. Fear is a hidden creature that strikes when you least expect and surprises you even when you DO expect it ´´ Shen said, ``But, like every emotion, you can control it. Courage is not lack of fear, it is the skill to control the fear and move on to your goal. You feared the creature, yet managed to kill it, even if it was too late to save your friend. To have the courage to face the creature that almost killed you, that was Rick´s last gift´´ the elder smiled. ``You´re right, I had the courage to finally kill it and next time someone is in danger, I KNOW that I won´t flee. Thank you very much for the teaching, Shen´´ the woman thanked while bowing. ``_His sacrifice wasn´t in vain´´ _she thought comforted.

`` Wait a second, you were a hunter? But you´re so…´´ the woman started, ``…small? Hahaha…We, wyverians, tend to be a bit different from you humans´´ the elder answered, ``Wyverian? You´re one of them?´´ the red haired lady raised a brow, she heard stories about the wyverians from her parents, a race of people that was said to be as tall as the wyrms themselves, hence the name. `` We tend to shrink when we get older, but I used to be as tall as a normal human during my hunting days. Somehow our kind reduced in size in the last generations, I wonder if it has something to do with the place we live… But our ancestors, they surely were giants compared to you humans´´ the chief answered. ``How can I know if someone is a wyverian if they are of normal size?´´ the huntress asked, ``The easiest distinction is the ears, we have pointed ones´´ the elder said moving his hair with the back of the hand to show long pointed ears. Our feet are what you would call claws, but other than that we´re pretty much like your kind´´ Shen completed.

``Is Haikan a wyverian? The small travelling elder with a backpack?´´ Yoru asked, the elder pondered for a few seconds. ``Oh! Yes, I believe so… I still remember when we were young and he used to think that every colored stone was a gem´´ Shen snickered. ``It has been weeks since we met for the last time´´ the red haired said, ``Don´t worry too much about him, as far as I know he is travelling around the continent in search of gems for years. He surely knows how to defend himself´´ Shen waved his hand.

Yoru smiled as she remembered the little wyverian fleeing from a Khezu, he had potions and other useful items if she was correct. ``I guess so, goodbye´´ the huntress waved her hand as she exited the house.

```Meow! Did you get the bounty?´´ Pasir ran after the huntress using his four paws, ``Yes, but I will save the money´´ Yoru said. ``Meow! Why? At least buy something for yourself, the villagers are talking good things about you´´ the Felyne argued, ``Really? Let me guess, they are thankful that now they can get their precious kelbi horns?´´ the huntress asked in an stressed tone. ``Uhm…yeah. Many say their stores were in a bad situation and now they can get back to business´´ the cat told, a faint smile formed on the huntress´ lips. ``Glad to hear that´´ she said but her smile soon faded. `` But I still need more 80 thousand zen to start the construction of the wall…´´ she mumbled, Pasir almost fainted after hearing the numbers.

``Tha-that much?! Meow! Are you sure that this project is even worth? No disrespect, but a lot of monsters can fly´´ Pasir cautiously questioned, he knew it was bad to anger the woman, especially now that her friend died. Yoru stopped, she stood there looking at the paper without blinking or moving. ``Run!´´ Pasir screamed fleeing from the area, the villagers looked confused as the Ferlyne ran the fastest he could. The huntress calmly put the paper in her pocket and walked away. She soon reached the training field.

Yoru stopped right in the middle of the area, she drew her longsword and swung the blade downwards.``AAAAAHHHH!´´ she screamed in anguish. How could she be so stupid? A common wall would only stop normal prey and bulfangos, not a flying wyvern. ``I can´t believe it!´´ she swung the sword from left to right several times. ``Four months! Four months!´´ she moved the sword diagonally from the left to the right and then right to the left. ``I ate crap food, worked every possible day! Killed all these puny pink monsters! ´´ she made a sequence of attacks. For a viewer her movements were slow and sluggish, considering the weapon type and her strength. But for anyone that tasted the weapon´s weight it was an impressive fact that she wasn´t screaming in pain because of dislodged muscles and such. `` For nothing?!´´ she launched the sword away, the blade felt and ended up craved on the ground three meters away. Yoru kneeled and covered her face in the ground, unable to do anything else as she gasped for air.

``That was quite a throw, Nightfury´´ a familiar voice spoke, Yoru raised her head to meet Gray and a few of his people. ``What did you call me?´´ she asked confused, ``Nightfury, I guess you fulfilled your promise after all´´ the Felyne chief said smiling. ``My promise…But I still cannot properly wield it´´ the huntress said catching her breath, ``No, you still can´t. But look at you, every other hunter that I saw using the sword was barely able to lift the blade and yet those who did lift could only do a move or two before falling down´´ the other Felynes nodded in agreement. ``Perhaps in a close future you will be able to use this sword like its previous owner. No, I know you will be able to do it´´ Gray stated. ``And you even helped the village by defeating that Black Tigrex!´´ one Felyne said, ``You really are the new Nightfury!´´ other said happily. ``Our Nightfury is back! Meow!´´ the grey Felynes celebrated in unison. Yoru raised, she looked a bit depressed because of the compliments. ``I will rest a bit, tell Pasir he can have the day off´´ the huntress said to the Felyne chief before walking away. ``I see…´´ Gray murmured, he knew how she was feeling.

**(Yoru´s house)**

Yoru silently opened the door, she put the longsword on the wall and struggled to get the armor off. It had a foul because of the sweating but she was already used to it. With just common clothes she stared through one of the windows, it was a sunny day and a lot of farmers and villagers were doing their jobs, carrying baskets of fruits or dragging sacks of materials. The people was happy and that brought a smile to the woman´s face, but then a chicken came running through the ground, dazzling left and right as a boy tried to catch it, the scene reminded her of a Gypceros and soon the image of her fallen friend passed through her mind. ``I need to rest´´ she said to herself feeling weak, she still hadn´t recovered from the battle against Unknown and now she felt tired from doing all those moves with her weapon.

She jumped into her bed, not caring about the blanket or the open window. Close to the bed were a large chest used for storage and a minor one used for smaller things or items for quick use. The small box was open and many black spikes of Unknown could be spotted, but a specific spike protuberated from the box. It was slightly larger and curvier than the others with a faint stain of dried blood covering the tip and middle.


	18. Questionable behaviors

**(Kokoto)**

Yoru ate a plate filled to the top with food, it was a courtesy of the tavern´s owner as thanks for the huntress´ deeds. Surprisingly she found she was REALLY hungry, hunting all day with her sword on her back, fighting briefly with a Rathian and killing Unknown cost her more energy than she thought. ``Replenishing your energies?´´ a familiar voice asked. Yoru looked to the side and saw Derek sitting at her side, ``He gave me for killing Unknown, said it was a form of thanks´´ she pointed at the barternder with a chicken thigh as she munched the food. ``Want some?´´ she asked, ``No, I already ate dinner´´ the azure hunter waved his hand. ``Where were you? Did you take another job today?´´ the hunter asked, ``No, slept all day. Couldn´t sleep well last night because of that…incident´´ the woman answered.

``By the way, we still don´t know what to call the beast, it must be catalogued in the archives and given a proper official name. I think you should help with that since you fought it´´ Derek said, he was carefully to not bring Rick into the discussion. ``Fine, I will do it later´´ she answered eating a spoon filled with vegetables. ``By the way, I don´t know what to do with all that money, I´m not going to build that wall anymore´´ she said gulping. ``You were still saving for that wall? I thought you had given up months ago´´ Derek exclaimed. ``No, I saved around 20 thousand zen, 80 thousand with that bounty. But I noticed it was useless against a flying monster. Hell, even that black monster could jump over it!´´ the huntress grimaced.

Derek pondered, how could she spend all that money? She, gratefully, wasn´t the kind that spent a lot of money. She could… ``Why don´t you pay the blacksmiths a visit and request an armor made of the beast´s scales and materials? It seemed very hard and flexible at the same time, not that heavy too´´ Derek suggested, ``I will not wear that monster´s hide!´´ Yoru protested, ``Why not?´´ the hunter asked. ``I will not wear the hide of the thing that killed my friend! I won´t become the same thing I despise!´´ Yoru hit the table with her fist. ``If you killed it, you´re worthy of using the creature´s hide. It shows your deeds, in this case you killed the thing that plagued our village for a long time. By what you told me it fought fair and square, no surprise attacks or coward moves. Isn´t that the kind of monster you seek?´´ Derek asked.

``No! It made sneak attacks on kelbi and Felyne´´ Yoru argued, ``You stood on a bush waiting to ambush it, it is not that different´´ Derek calmly said, he was used to the huntress´ short temper and knew she was just acting like that because she was sad. ``You need to understand why I want you to do that´´ Derek said frowning, the huntress narrowed her eyes, she stopped bragging out of respect. ``Those materials will protect you better than your current armor, they can save YOUR life´´ the azure hunter explained. ``I don´t care about my life! I would rather die to protect my friends!´´ Yoru stressed, ``Guess what? I would do the same!´´ Derek shouted, Yoru´s eyes widened.

``Don´t you think I wasn´t also preoccupied when Pasir came telling me that you were fighting Unknown? I ran through the jungle for hours and not even a Power Juice helped that much. You aren´t the only one suffering´´ Derek told raising his voice, the other hunters turned their attention to the duo, they expected Yoru to have an outburst at any moment. Some heard from their Felyne Comrades that she was their new Nightfury, which was fitting considering her bad temper and her battle with Unknown taking place at night.

Yoru stared Derek in the face, her eyes narrowed and her brows frowned. ``I can´t argue with that´´ she said smiling, she was happy to hear that her friend cared about her. ``I will request the armor tomorrow, but with one condition´´ Yoru said eating a baked potato, ``And what is it?´´ Derek asked. ``If the blacksmiths create a revealing armor that shows a good deal of my skin or have a non protective design, I will burn the respective exposed areas of their body´´ Yoru said stabbing the cooked chicken with a knife, she moved the tool down creating a huge cut that went from the neck to the back. ``Who would like those kinds of armors anyway?!´´ the huntress asked no one in particular, basically all the male hunters scoffed or coughed before giving some kind of excuse to get out of the tavern. ``I saw your faces you perverts!´´ Yoru shouted. Derek was still at her side.

``Why don´t you make your own design for the blacksmiths? I know you drew the design of your velociprey armor and I think it´s better than the actual one for the women´´ Derek suggested, ``It seems I have to…How I want to learn to forge armors and weapons! So these bastards don´t screw with the design every time!´´ Yoru looked upwards and then sighed.

**(Next day-Kokoto´s library)**

``What about Kokuju? Dark beast?´´ a man asked with an open book and a pencil in his hands, Yoru shook her head. ``Yinguka? Ominous shadow?´´ he asked, ``Can I give a name?´´ the huntress asked and the man nodded. ``Naruga Kuruga´´ Yoru said, ``Why that name? If you pardon me´´ the man asked, ``It is similar to my name and surname: Yoru Aruna Yukuna and I know a bit of the old language´´ she answered. ``Why your parents decided to give your name in the old language?´´ the scribe asked, ``Don´t know, never asked´´ the woman bit her lip. ``Naruga Kuruga…hunter of the night. Sounds very good, I will write it down´´ the man suggested and the huntress nodded.

Yoru sat at a bench in one of the many streets of Kokoto, she opened a book and grabbed a pencil out of her pocket. She had bought a book to draw the armor designs she wanted, the first page was a copy of her velociprey armor and the second a simple and unfinished scratch of the Naruga armor. ``So you are an artist now?´´ a familiar voice spoke, it was Elvis. ``I don´t have much time to draw, but if it is for hunting purposes why not?´´ Yoru spoke taking a look at the drawings.

``Anyway, I was researching about Nightfury these last days but didn´t find anything about him, not even in a book about Jumbo. I asked about the last honored hunter but the man was a gunner that was gravely injured by a Monoblos and retired soon after.´´ Elvis said. ``Maybe he wasn´t well know before he went to the desert´´ she said shrugging, ``Or maybe, he wasn´t a hunter at all. Someone who can lift a longsword heavy as a greatsword surely would have been listed on the book. I just wonder why he basically exiled himself to protect the Felynes´´ the medic pondered. ``Almost everything has a reason´´ Yoru told looking down, ``Almost?´´ the man asked, ``I don´t know why, but I still feel the same burning hatred inside me, it has diminished after I killed Unknown however…it is still there´´ she explained putting a hand over her chest.

`` People act differently when dealing with death, I think you are angry to avoid sadness. I heard some people laugh instead of crying, it is weird but I guess their minds are too busy laughing to be concerned over other things´´ Elvis suggested. ``Why would someone laugh in a sad occasion?´´ Yoru asked more to herself than to her friend. ``You, for instance, burst with anger when you are preoccupied. At least that is what I noticed, I heard all your "complaining" about your project yesterday. I guess everyone heard that´´ the medic hunter smirked. ``So you are telling me that when I am angry I am actually being caring? That makes no sense!´´ Yoru told.

``Well, not always. I mean, you use your anger to boost your adrenaline levels so you can defeat the ones hurting your friends. It is ironic, you save people by being angry, hahaha´´ the horn user laughed briefly, Yoru furrowed her brows so the man stopped. ``How you know so much about people and monsters?´´ the huntress asked, ``You can call me a "medic hunter". In other words I have to know the monsters I am going to hunt but also the human body and other things so I can better threat my comrades. However, I still have a lot to learn´´ Elvis answered. ``You are a very flexible hunter, I am good only for attacking a monster until it stops moving, Ah…I wish I could do something else´´ Yoru sighed.

``Every hunter has his/her affinity with some kind of weapon, it is better to stick up with a style than to be casual with every weapon´´ Elvis said, ``But what if you can master three or more weapons? Like a longsword, lance and bow?´´ Yoru asked. ``It takers years, if not decades to fully master a weapon, to master more than two would take your whole life and you would have to do easier quests to get a hold on the weapon and not die in the process. Like they say:"There is always something to learn"´´ Elvis explained.

``I must go, I promised to help a friend with a quest. See you later´´ the medic hunter walked away, ``Goodbye´´ the huntress said waving her arm. ``_Should I continue using the sns? That shield isn´t doing very much against more powerful monsters´´ _Yoru pondered. ``_With her stamina she could keep the Devil´s dance for a long time. I hope she realizes this´´ _Elvis thought as he walked away.

``Understood?!´´ Yoru asked the blacksmiths, she was pointing her longsword at them. ``Understood!´´ they answered with their faces planted on the ground. ``I am paying you 60 thousand zen and these materials cost me a friend! So I hope you do your utmost best!´´ the huntress threatened. ``We will do our best!´´ they reassured, the woman stared at them expecting any murmur or gesture that could indicate some kind of "plotting", they didn´t move. ``Ok, you can go´´ she walked towards the door behind her. The group of four blacksmiths waited for a few seconds before finally moving.

``We better not evoke her ire. Let´s do as she ordered´´ one of them told, ``I agree´´ the second said fearfully, ``I don´t want my chest burned so I agree´´ the third said looking at the forge, ``And I don´t my butt burned, I will do my best´´ the fourth said. Someone kicked the door open, ``Holy crap!´´the blacksmiths jumped surprised. ``Good to hear that! Because if you screw this up YOU will have to hunt another one to get the items! ´´ Yoru said with a smirk on her face.

**(Two weeks later)**

``I came for my armor´´ Yoru said to one of the blacksmiths at the balcony, ``Oh! Sure! Sure! Come with me´´ the man said gesturing with his hand. The huntress entered through a side door after it was unlocked by the attendant. They went through some minor deposit rooms but stopped at a room reserved for students. A shirtless man hammered a piece of metal, his moves were lazy and hadn´t enough strength to properly bend the metal. ``Nice to see you again Ignavus!´´ the huntress said in a sarcastic tone, ``You look a bit…rusted. All you need is a bit of fresh air´´ she mused. ``Satisfied with your revenge? Now go away!´´ the ex-hunter snarled, he hammered with renewed vigor. ``You deserve this, because of you I lost part of my vision!´´ the hunter pointed to her eye, the man only grunted. ``Let´s go, I don´t want to stay here any longer´´ Yoru demanded and the blacksmith nodded.

They reached a large room filled with mannequins wearing armor, two guards were watching the equipment, one was equipped with a sns and Plesioth armor and the other wore a Gravios armor with a lance and greatshield. Many spheres were attached to their belt and if one looked closer dark visors could be seen under the helm and a mask of sorts covered their mouths. They were tasked with the protection of the armors so no rogue hunter or thief could steal them. The guards were switched from time to time but one always complemented the other. The visors acted as protection against flash bombs and the masks against smoke bombs. No cheap tricks against them.

``Authorization please´´ the light armored guard asked and the huntress gave him the paper, he checked the name, requested armor and official stamp. ``Password´´ the man asked, ``Kasu´´ the woman answered. ``Everything is okay´´ the man stepped aside though he still kept a vigilant watch. ``You sure wanted this armor safe, didn´t you?´´ the bulky hunter said, ``Yes, it cost me more than you can imagine´´ she answered putting her hands on her hips.

On the opposite wall stood a mannequin with her armor on. The design was manly black with minuscule grey parts around the joints where the iron rings could be seen, red straps of tissue adorned the joints. The helm was loosely shaped like the creature´s face having long dark blue ears which the insides were red and a "Y" shaped opening for the eyes and mouth. The torso plate was slightly curved forward, completely covered in the monster´s hide. The gauntlets were shaped similarly to the monster´s tail, having a "flower" like form that was thin in the backhand and opened to spikes as it progressed to the elbow. The leggings seemed mostly generic, the only decoration being small spikes making a vertical line behind.

``I must say, you did a very good job´´ Yoru said as she inspected the armor, ``Of course, you designed it. I must admit, it was hard to shape the scales since we had no experience with this material. We were afraid to break them but it turned out it is indeed quite flexible and sturdy, no wonder it moved so smoothly and silently´´ the blacksmith said, there was a glint in his eyes. ``I guess our hide is safe, right?´´ the man said, ``I must test it first´´ the woman answered grabbing the helm. ``Oh, almost forgot. Here are your swords´´ the blacksmith offered a box, Yoru opened it.

Inside there were two black swords made of Naruga´s materials, the tip was slightly curved down and the hilt had a protection around it in the form of a "C", three long spikes adorning it. Yoru grabbed her longsword and put it down, ``So much better now´´ she said moving her shoulders. The huntress grabbed the twin swords and tested their weight. Suddenly she jumped to the side and attacked the air with a sequel of stabs, a spinning slash followed by a crossing cut and finally she jumped back. The spectators barely caught the movement and before they could warn the huntress she had stopped and returned to her original stance. ``They are well made´´ she said putting the swords back in the box. ``Ugh! Now, if you excuse me, I have to test the armor´´ Yoru put the longsword back in its place.

Derek cleaned his face with a tissue, ``All done sir´´ he said breathing heavily, he was wearing his azure armor. The hunter was all covered in dust and earth but the farm was safe and that is what mattered. ``Thanks for the help, these bulfangos were really annoying´´ the farmer said with a pickaxe over the shoulder. ``Sorry for the plants, though´´ the hunter said rubbing his head, many vegetables and fruits were smashed and spread over the field. ``I guess you couldn´t do anything about it, right? But at least my family will have enough food´ the old man said. ``If you excuse me, I have to go now. By the way, you can skin the pelts and sell them, you can get some zen for each one´´ Derek advised, ``You don´t want them?´´ the elder asked, ``No, I already have sufficient money´´ the hunter answered.

And with this answer Derek left the field and entered the forest, `_`I wonder if she got her armor already…they said it would be ready today_´´ he thought. A branch cracked somewhere making the hunter stop. He looked around but saw nothing suspicious, then he remembered something and looked upwards. In a nearby tree a black form stood on a branch, the wood cracking once again. ``Good! You looked upwards, most people simply don´t do this ´´ a familiar voice said clapping. ``Yoru?´´ he asked, ``Did you think it was a…´´ the huntress stopped, the wood was cracking again. She jumped to the ground just as the branch broke and fell to the ground. The red haired woman grunted as she landed but surprisingly the fall was rather smooth and silent, instead of the usual "bam!" caused by the heavy weight. ``…a monster?´´ Yoru chuckled.

``Ag…yeah.´´ Derek said taking a look at the new armor, ``So! What do you think?´´ Yoru extended her arms to the sides. ``Well…to be sincere. This armor is elegant but not like "that" kind of elegant, if you know what I mean. How did you avoid making noise?´´ he asked, truth be told Derek was concerned about the blacksmiths, he was glad they did a good job time. ``The boots have that property, I think it has something to do with the flexibility, there is also a bunch of things stuffed on the bottom to reduce noise´´ she said pointing to her feet. ``Were you trying to mimic the monster´s appearance? ´´ Derek asked, ``Yep, though there wasn´t a way to copy the glowing eyes, I don´t want to see everything red, it is bad enough to have half of my vision´´ she said.

**(Five months later)**

``Now, strike the rock with that technique I told you earlier´´ Derek told Yoru, they were at the training field wearing their respective armors. A rock as big as the huntress stood between them. ``Is this really the strongest move?´´ Yoru asked, ``Yes, Now I want you to attack with "heavenly impact" ´´ the greatsword user commanded. ``It is kinda of funny, I have to learn complex moves and the most powerful one is basically "hit with all your might"´´ the huntress grabbed her longsword and held it with both hands.

``I told you before, it is very hard to do "heavenly impact" during combat, you have to focus and forget all the emotions that can get in the way, like anger and despair. If you just "hit with all your might" or let the anger distract you the result will be underwhelming´´ Derek explained, ``It´s not like I have any anger issues or something´´ the huntress said in a clear sarcastic tone. ``Alright, I will do my best´´ Yoru sighed, she bent her knees and leaned back with the sword. ``Now take deep breaths´´ the hunter instructed, ``Close your eyes. Focus on your surroundings, feel the area around you. Focus on the rock in your front´´ the man instructed and the huntress obeyed.

A foggy image started to form on Yoru´s mind, slowly and steady it began to have the form of a rock. Then something broke her concentration, it was the sound of flapping wings. She immediately opened her eyes and saw dozens of birds flying in the horizon. The birds seemed scared of someone or better, something. ``Something scared them off…´´ Yoru said looking at the fleeing birds. ``The birds work as an alarm, there are many nests placed on that area, if something approaches it will scare them off and so give us a signal´´ Derek said going for the greatsword on his back. ``Then that means…´´ the huntress implied walking forward.

They stood at the border or the training field where a fence delimited the area. There was a small grass field between the fence and the forest with enough space to react should a charging monster appeared from between the trees. Silence, not even a minuscule rustle of leaves or breathing. ``Keep searching…´´ Derek said looking around, Yoru closed her eyes trying to hear the hidden beast. The duo waited for about five minutes until Derek lowered his weapon. ``It´s gone´´ he said sighing relieved, Yoru stood her ground. ``I´m not buying that, that Naruga jumped out of the trees in a split second, it could be another one´´ she told opening her eyes.

``Naruga? Is that the name you gave to it?´´ Derek asked and the huntress nodded. ``You can go if you wish but I will remain here until I am sure that there is nothing there´´ Yoru lowered her blade but still gazed from side to side, ``Fine, I will bring you a flask of water´´ the man said. The hunter knew she would stay in that position for the remainder of the day if necessary and there was nothing he could do about it. ``I can call a guard to watch for you, they are specifically trained for this´´ the hunter suggested but the huntress shook her head to the sides. ``No, I am going to do it´´ she looked at the sun in the sky, it was mid afternoon.

**(Hours Later)**

Yoru sat on the ground with her sword close to her legs, the sun had gone five hours ago but she still remained on the training field. The huntress was bored and quite hungry but not even once she considered going back to rest. She could sleep and eat later. ``_At least the sky is clear´´ _she thought drinking from a flask of water given by Derek. ``_There is a monster there…I know it. It fled when we noticed but then came back an hour later. I can´t see it but I can tell, the birds haven´t returned´´ _the huntress thought standing up.

``_Are you preparing a sneak attack? When I go away?´´ _she pondered stretching her muscles. ``_All the hunters are sleeping or doing jobs and the guards didn´t notice you. I am the only one aware besides Derek. They won´t search for you just because I am preoccupied, no…If I go after you, you will avoid me, wait till I am deep inside the forest and then attack the village´s flank. That…if you are as intelligent as I think you are, sneaky bastard´´ _she spited on the ground but then yawned. ``_Dam! I will not sleep! Not until sunrise!´´ _she promised.

Yoru sat on the ground with her head down, her chest slowly moving up and down. The longsword was close by on the ground. ``_How much time till it appears? It´s hard to keep this´´ _she thought. She was focusing on her senses, especially hearing, to indentify the lurking beast. The plan was to attack when the beast was at her blade´s reach with everything she got. The huntress could hear and feel the wind blowing against her skin and armor, the leaves shifting and the grass moving but no sign of any creature. A sudden urge filled her heart, it was anger, hatred and a bit of curiosity. She couldn´t see, hear or smell anything different. However, her instincts were screaming danger. The wind, which was blowing towards her, stopped as if something was blocking it. ``_Now!´´_ she grabbed the hilt of her sword, moved her arms to the side and prepared to strike with a rising blow, all in mere two seconds. **CLANK!**

Someone grunted as he/she was pushed back. Yoru stood up with her sword in hand, breathless by the sudden move. She gasped when she noticed who she hit. Derek had blocked the blow with his greatsword. Two lines of moved earth trailed from his feet to the spot where he received the hit, `` Are you okay?!´´ Yoru asked rushing to his aid. ``I´m fine´´ the hunter lowered his blade, the woman sighed relieved. ``What are you doing here?! I could have killed you!´´ the huntress shouted angry. ``I thought you were sleeping so I brought you a blanket´´ Derek told revealing said blanket on his shoulder. ``Oh! Ah…´´ the huntress mumbled, she blushed for a second but forced herself to maintain a neutral expression.

``I wasn´t sleeping´´ Yoru said frowning, ``You were snorting´´ Derek protested. ``It was fake. I was trying to lure the monster and attack it. I felt when you stood in front of me so that´s why I attacked´´ the huntress explained. ``What makes you think it is still there?´´ the man asked putting his greatsword on the back, he was wearing his usual azure rathalos armor. ``The birds, they haven´t returned´´ the red haired woman craved her sword on the ground, it was easier to get it from the ground than from her back. Derek looked at the trees, ``I asked the guard when he came back from his shift, he said everything was clear´´ Derek said. ``But I know it is still there, I can feel it´´ Yoru told, ``When will you rest?´´ the hunter asked. ``At sunrise…What are you doing with your armor on? It is too late for any jobs´´ the huntress asked.

``I was reading your report about this…Naruga and I wondered:Why it´s eyes glow red? I thought about this the whole afternoon and forgot to take off the armor. I was sharpening my sword moments ago, I guess I will have to repair it later´´ Derek said taking a look at the damage, the scales were broken and the bone underneath had deep scratch. ``Sorry about the sword´´ the huntress apologized but the hunter simply waved his hand. ``Actually, I am happy with what you did´´ Derek said proudly ``What?´´ the woman asked.

``You see, the objective of heavenly impact was to improve your awareness and ability to summon all your potential in a single blow. You did exactly what you were supposed to do and I must say….considering your position and my sword durability you did a great job. You would probably break an Azure Rathalos´ leg with this´´ Derek explained placing a hand on Yoru´s shoulder, ``Thank you…´´ she mumbled. ``What did you say?´´ he asked. ``I´m sorry but I have to return to my watch´´ Yoru yawned and turned to watch the forest´s border. ``Will you be fine?´´ the man asked, ``Yes, I am used to lack of sleep anyway´´ the huntress answered, the hunter rubbed his head. ``Ok but remember: Don´t try to fight a monster alone if you can, you aren´t the only one who wants to protect the village´´ Derek said walking away. ``Thank you for coming´´ the huntress said,

**(Next day)**

Yoru was standing on the training field as the Sun´s bright rays illuminated Kokoto, she had deep black marks underneath her eyes and her gaze was directed at the forest. It was over, the birds were flying towards their nests. With a grunt the huntress grabbed the sword and put it on her back, almost falling down with the sudden weight. ``Food…´´ she murmured as she lazily walked out of the field and into the streets, because of the sword, lack of sleep and food she walked like a drunk.

Yoru found her way to the tavern, she slowly opened the door and entered without caring about anyone. A waiter walked towards the huntress, he was finishing a conversation with a friend and was unaware of what was in front of him …**BANG!**

Yoru launched herself to the side in the last second, falling straight to the ground between the tables. The huntress groaned as she tried to push herself off the ground, ``Meow! Are you okay?´´ a familiar voice asked concerned, it was Pasir. ``No, but I will live´´ she fell again, her chin hit the ground, her teeth cringed with the impact. ``Sometimes I hate this sword´´ she mumbled annoyed.

.

.

.

Snorting echoed through the room almost in the same pace of the wind that was coming from the window. Yoru sleep peacefully in her bed, she was covered in a thin blanket since the day was cold.

_``Mom!´´ a girl shouted as she entered the kitchen. It was small, made of wood and had the minimum necessary but was cozy and well crafted. ``Yes my dear?´´ the woman asked turning, she wore a dress made of tied large leaves and a grey blouse with a white stripe in the middle and white dots on the back. The girl was about four years old and wore a similar but smaller dress._

_``Why Dad never plays with me?´´ the girl asked, she was embracing a moppet with brown strands of hair. ``Oh…´´ the mother muttered, it seemed the time has come. ``You see…you know all your toys and clothes?´´ she asked and the girl nodded. ``Dad brings the materials so I can craft them but he needs to gather these items and sometimes it is hard to find them´´ the woman answered crouching. ``But I miss Dad…I have enough toys already. I rather play with Dad or you but you are always doing something else too´´ the girl said with tearful eyes, she widened her eyes when her mother embraced she. ``I´m sorry for not playing with you, I can play with you now if you want´´ the woman suggested smiling to her child. ``Really?´´ the kid asked, ``Really´´ the older woman said._

_The room darkened, the walls crumbled and the mother disappeared like a ghost giving space to a beautiful lake filled with crystal water. `` Dad´´ a young girl of maybe ten years old called, ``Yes?´´ the father asked. He was tall and slim, his beard of moderate size and his hair wild and untamed, he probably cut it with a knife. His shoulders were covered by a dark brown pelt and the rest by a vest made of blue scales._

_``Mother told me about these…Monster Hunters, are you one of them?´´ the girl asked. ``What did she say about them?´´ the man asked a little grumpy, he didn´t even look at his daughter. ``She said they hunted creatures for a village, where people resides, and are paid to do so. Doesn´t that makes them…what´s the name…mercenaries?´´ she asked. _

_``A proper Monster Hunter is more than a mercenary, he or she is the defender of the village. Hunters don´t hunt because they want glory, they fight to protect the ones they love, to defend their home and as compensation and gratitude are revered and paid. The ones who defeat monsters for glory, money and fancy armors don´t comprehend the true meaning of being a hunter. Their motivations are selfish and as such weaker and easily broken. They end up getting less respect, money and sometimes die because of their own arrogance´´ the father told looking at his child, his tone was calm but one could distinguish a slightly bitterness._

_The girl touched her chin with the indicator finger and looked upwards, after several moments she finally spoke, ``Then you are a Monster Hunter, right? You bring food and protect us from evil boars and blue jumpers´´ the girl said with a smile. For the first time during that fruitless fishing the man smiled, his joy clearly visible._

Yoru opened her eyes, she looked at the ceiling of her small home. ``A dream…´´ she muttered sadly as she sat on her bed. ``Father…´´ she mumbled, a tear fell from her face. ``You were right…I was weak when I tried to get stronger just to prove them wrong. Now I finally understand, of soul and mind, what you meant…I just wanted you both could see me now…´´ she said to no one in special. She glanced at a box leaning on the wall, it contained her Naruga armor. ``You too…Rick´´ she said. Her attention shift to the left wall, where her sword was… ``WHO STOLE MY SWORD?!´´

**Note:Internet keep falling here so it was impossible to post sooner. **


	19. Triple H

Yoru ran after a trail of moved earth created by her sword, the thief was surely unable to hold the blade properly leaving a clear trail behind. Since her favorite weapon was stolen she took the twin swords with her and her rigorous training forced her to take her time and wear the Naruga armor. ``What are you doing? Meow?´´ Pasir asked catching up with his partner, ``Someone stole my longsword.´´ the huntress as she ran. ``Nightfury´s blade?! I have to tell the others!´´ the cat said running away. ``_Whoever you are! If I find you, you will suffer the same injuries I did when I got that blade!´´ _she swore to herself. Yoru started to run while looking at the ground but then stumbled at Derek.

``You can´t run around the village like that, last time you were almost hit by a hammer.´´ Derek advised while getting up. ``Sorry! I have to find that thief.´´ the huntress apologized ready to resume her search. ``Wait! Thief? What happened?!´´ the azure hunter grabbed Yoru´s hand. ``Someone stole my sword while I was asleep!´´ Yoru said quickly trying to run but the hunter´s grip was tight. ``Someone stole that sword? You have to come with me´´ Derek said, ``Where?!´´ she asked looking at the trail. ``There is a procedure for stolen equipment. Rest assured that we WILL get your sword back.´´ the hunter answered. The huntress looked at her friend, to the trail and to the hunter again. ``You trust me, right?´´ the man asked, ``Fine but let´s be quick.´´ she answered but Derek still held her hand. `` Can you let me go?´´ Yoru asked, ``You will run away the moment I let you, won´t you?´´ Derek raised a brow. ``I won´t, I swear by other eye.´´ she answered.

Derek guided Yoru to the outskirts of Kokoto where a fortified building stood. It was covered with fences, windows blocked by grids and metal covered doors. ``What is this place? I never heard of it before.´´ the huntress said as they reached the door, the hunter knocked the metal door.

``This is a branch of a guild designed to recover stolen armors and weapons. They moved here a few weeks ago. Since they are paid very well by the village chiefs, cases of corruption are as rare as a dragon and the few cases that a guild member committed a crime or stole something he/she was severely punished by the entire guild. They are infamously called "Human Hunters" or simply "HH" by thieves.´´ the man explained.

A hunter opened the door, he wore a set composed of metal plates and dark brown scales, two horns protuberated from his helm. ``What do you want?´´ he asked, ``Someone stole her longsword.´´ the azure hunter pointed to his friend. ``Your longsword? Come in, you have to fill out some documents first.´´ the man said. ``This is her first time, I will come too if that´s fine.´´ Derek said, the guild member looked at them, his expression covered by the helm. ``You two will have to give me your weapons, safe measures.´´ he said. ``I lost my sword and now I have to give my newly crafted twin swords?!´´ Yoru asked pointing to the man´s face. ``Fine, here.´´ the azure hunter offered his greatsword, the guild member took the sword and put it inside the building, the duo saw a shadow grabbing the weapon. ``Your swords, lady.´´ the guild member extended his arm. ``I will not give you MY swords!´´ the huntress protested, ``Come on Yoru, the thief is getting away. You want your sword or not?´´ the Rathalos hunter asked. After a while Yoru finally gave the hunter her swords, ``Take care of them like they were your soul.´´ she said staring him in the face. ``I will.´´ he answered putting the swords on his back. ``Now come.´´ the man said gesturing.

They walked through a dining hall where other guild members were discussing. Yoru took a good look at the area, the place was clean and the hunters seemed decent in her opinion. But something inside her told that there was something wrong, an instinct or a sixth sense. The hunter guided them to a nearby room where they sat on chairs and the man sat behind a desk. ``So...do you have the document of your sword?´´ the Monoblo´s hunter asked, his calm behavior was starting to get the huntress irritated. ``Here.´´ she said giving the paper and her hunting license, the man calmly read the documents.

``_**Owner:**__Yoru Aruna Yukuna._

_**Weapon type**__:Longsword._

_**Nickname**__:Nightfury´s blade_

_**Description:**__A very rusted longsword with the word "Rage" inscribed in the blade. __**EXTREMELY**__**HEAVY**__. The only one known to properly wield it is the owner._

**Signed:**_Grey, leader of the grey Felynes_

_Shen, chief village of Kokoto_´´

``Interesting…it must be very heavy.´´ the guild member said in a playful manner, ``It was necessary the help of my friend over here and a hammer user to put it on my back the first time I trained with it. Only I can use it.´´ Yoru said, she was almost jumping at the hunter for not taking it seriously. The Monoblos hunter looked at the huntress expecting to find any trace of joke, he found none. ``Sir!Sir!Meow!´´ a female Felyne called, the hunters turned to see a grey Felyne standing at the door behind them. ``Wai! How many times I told not to interrupt me while I am addressing a client?´´ the man covered his face with the hand.

`` But Nightfury´s blade was stolen! We need to recover it! It is our most treasured weapon!´´ the cat protested. ``It seems Pasir already spread the news.´´ Yoru said grinning, ``Did you tell him to do this?´´ Derek asked, ``No, it was his decision.´´ she answered. ``Nightfury?!´´ the cat bowed. ``Really?! I am not a goddess or anything.´´ the huntress facepalmed. ``Ahrm…´´ Wai looked at the huntress and then to her master. ``All the Felyne Comrades who are not on duty are searching for your sword,meow!´´ the grey cat said. ``If you give value to your job then I suggest you to get out of this room, now!´´ the guild hunter ordered. Wai trembled but stood her ground.

``No! Meow! I rather lose my job than refuse to help Nightfury!´´ the Felyne crossed his paws. ``Listen well your furball! I am the one in charge here! You are going to go get out of this room now or I will…!´´ the Monoblos hunter grabbed a longsword from the wall. ``Or you will do what?!´´ Yoru glared, she put her arm over the desk showing all the sharp spikes of the gauntlets. ``Are you threatening me?´´ the hunter asked, ``Yoru, that´s not a good idea.´´ Derek said. ``To hell with it! You don´t know what that sword mean to us!´´ the huntress clenched her fists .``Wai only wants to help me find that sword! Why are you so angry with her if your job is to do the same thing?! You should be thankful she is already doing something WHILE YOU are taking an eternity to just check a small paper! ´´ Yoru argued.

Derek was going to restrain the huntress when he heard a very familiar sound. The guild member was pointing his longsword at Yoru´s face. ``You respect me if you wish this job done.´´ the man said in a cold tone. ``You have to earn the respect of others, not force them to obey you.´´ Yoru didn´t move an inch, her eyes contained the rage of a dragon. ``Are you challenging me? I AM the leader of this guild! This is my place! ´´ the man ordered. Derek looked at the imposing hunter, he really missed his sword now. ``_I can´t stop Yoru now, she is too focused and he is skilled in fighting people…´´_ Derek thought trying to find a way out.

``It would be very bad for the guild if a member, specially the leader, killed a client for no good reason.´´ Derek said. ``Of course, if the report says you attacked me…´´ the leader suggested with a smirk. ``Wai, get out of here. You have to tell everyone.´´ Yoru ordered. The Felyne tried to open the door but it was locked. ``I was already expecting that.´´ the huntress sighed. Both hunters raised a brow. ``You are the thief!´´ she parried the longsword with her gauntlet and jumped over the table.

Outside the room a group of armored hunters awaited quietly for their "guests" to come out. What they heard wasn´t quite what they expected:

`` You think I am scared of this puny sword?! ***Crack*´´ **a woman roared, a Felyne screamed. ``Where is the sword?!´´ the same voice demanded, a vase broke and many books fell to the ground. No! No! Agh!´´ a male voice begged and then silence. The gang couldn´t bear any longer, they had to check their boss. ``Boss!´´ a group of hunters opened the door.

A man lay immobile close to a broken bookcase, Yoru stood in front of him with a simple longsword on her hand. ``Boss?´´ she slowly turned to face the other hunters. Derek was holding Wai in his arms, ``Don´t look.´´ the azure hunter said, the cat tightly closed her eyes. ``Now we are dead´´ Derek stared at the "guild members", there wasn´t much he could do without a weapon.

``You have 5 seconds to tell me where is my sword and WHO paid you to do this.´´ Yoru warned. ``You killed our boss!´´ the hunters said in unison, they prepared themselves. ``One…´´ the huntress held the longsword diagonally with just one hand. ``Die!´´ the huntress ran at the hunters with a war cry.

**(Kokoto´s Gate)**

A group of hunters approached the gateway, ``Stop right there!´´ a guard ordered. The group stopped, a tall man marched forward with his arms extended upwards. ``I am Kai! Kokoto´s HH guild master!´´ the hunter informed, ``You are lying! The guild master and his hunters had arrived ten days ago.´´ the guards announced with spears ready. ``Then you were fooled!´´ the hunter slowly grabbed a paper from his pocket and threw to the first guard. `Here is my document.´´ the hunter said.

After a quick examination the guard looked at his companion, ``Sound the alarm!´´ he ordered. The second guard grabbed a special horn and blew it. A short and acute sound filled the village. This horn was designed for "human problems" like thieves, murderers and impostors. Its sound is easily distinguished from the "monster horn" and all people were advised to stay inside or close to a guard(if you are sure you know this guard).

``We must go to the building at once! I heard that Nightfury went there to make a contract.´´ the guard said gesturing for the group to follow him. The streets were already empty, only a handful of hunters and guards stood in front of the doors. ``I must say…your people are very organized.´´ Kai praised as he ran. ``We are almost there!´´ the guard announced.

Soon they reached the building. Terrible screams could be heard inside along with the noise of many things breaking or falling. A badly injured man opened the main door, his armor was practically destroyed and his helm missing. He had a purple eye and a broken chin. ``Hellp-oos!´´ he tried to say but then a black arm pulled him back . ``AAGH!´´ the man´s screams filled the building, making the true HH hunters shiver. A feral scream echoed. ``Hurry! We need to help "Nightfury"!´´ Kai urged, his group followed just a few steps behind. The guards sat on the ground but the guild members didn´t notice this.

``We are here to help!´´ Kai kicked the door open, he was ready to save Nightfury from the attack of the impostors but what he saw was not what he expected. Many plates were broken or scattered across the ground, hunters lay immobile on the ground with broken swords and shields and food was splattered everywhere. A single huntress stood in the middle of the hall with a clean longsword on her right hand and a half awake hunter in the other. ``I will ask again:WHERE…IS…MY….SWORD?!´´ she snarled aiming at the man´s heart.

``I swear! I don´t know!´´ the man pleaded, ``Liar!´´ she kicked him in the stomach and left him fall, the hunter lost his senses in an instant ``You there! Don´t move!´´ Kai ordered, a bunch of his men aimed their crossbows at the huntress. ``More?´´ Yoru turned to face them, ``No! Wait!´´ Derek stood in front of the huntress with Wai in his arms. ``They were the impostors!´´ he quickly explained pointing to the fallen hunters.

``How are you sure they are not one of these bastards?´´ Yoru asked positioning herself. ``You must be Nightfury, am I correct?´´ Kai asked giving some steps to show he was unarmed. ``People call me that…I am Yoru.´´ the huntress answered. With a grunt she held the sword with both hands. ``How can I trust you?´´ the red haired woman asked, ``I know what you are thinking but let´s handle this carefully, we don´t want any more deaths´´ Kai extended his arms referring to all the fallen hunters.

``They are not dead, I made sure to only hit with the blunt side of the sword.´´ Yoru grinned at her improvement, ``I wonder for how long…´´ Derek mumbled checking a hunter´s neck. ``They need medical care now!´´ the azure hunter called after checking a bunch of men. The guild members looked at their leader waiting for an order, ``Take care of them´´ Kai ordered.

Yoru kept track of the hunters as they grabbed the impostors, her senses were still working at top speed. Only when a group of Kokoto´s guards came that she lowered her blade, she remembered their faces clearly well. ``Calm down. It´s over.´´ Derek said at her side, ``No, it´s not.´´ the huntress answered. ``Yeah, we still need to interrogate these guys and punish them.´´ Kai said walking towards the duo, ``I am more worried about my sword.´´ Yoru crossed her arms.


	20. A Night to remember

``I apologized for the mess I caused in your building.´´ Yoru said leaning on a tree, Kai simply chuckled. ``We probably would cause a similar hui if we arrived sooner.´´ the guild master answered checking something on the ground, it looked like a tissue. ``You mean destruction?´´ the huntress asked resting her back on a tree. ``Sorry, I was going to say destru-Wait. You understand the old language?´´ the hunter asked. ``My parents taught me, Mr. Trouble.´´ she snickered. ``What did you call me?´´ Kai frowned, ``We have to hurry, I lost too much time already.´´ Yoru ran away, a broad smile on her face, "hui" meant "chaos" in the old language.

``_For a skinny little pal she surely has the stamina of a monster´´_ the guild master followed his client, he was already slightly tired while the huntress was still running at top speed. ``_We aren´t going to get paid after all this trouble, these idiots endanger our reputation, the guild is basically destroyed and I have to endure our client because she is the only one who can bring the sword back. What else could go wrong?´´ _Kai thought.

``You said what could go wrong, didn´t you?´´ Yoru asked annoyed, Kai snapped back to reality. They were surrounded by a pack of bulfangos lead by a bulldrome, the huntress slowly grabbed her carving knife. ``Yes I did.´´ the guild hunter admitted grabbing his longsword. The huntress craved her knife on the ground, stirring the monsters and angering the leader. The bulldrome charged first, his minions waited to see their leader in action. They knew, by experience, that if they charged at the same time they would end up hitting each other and that wasn´t a pleasant experience.

``Why did you do that?!´´ Kai asked dodging to the side, the huntress simply stepped aside. ``To mark our position.´´ she answered grabbing her swords. The bulldrome stopped running and quickly turned to face them again. ``Let´s see how many cuts I can do without killing it.´´ Yoru said with a smirk, her anger focused on ways of punishing the thief without killing him/her.

.

.

.

The bulldrome snorted in agony, several cuts crossed his side and blood stained most of his fur. He was drenched in blood but none of the cuts were deep or lethal. ``Eight cuts, you are very strong, you know? Now go away!´´ the huntress shouted while pointing her right sword to a path to the left. The hunter was confused, ``Are you really asking him to leave? Monsters don´t think much less understand you.´´ Kai spoke incredulous, the bulldrome craved his pawn on the ground as if saying it would continue. Yoru roared at the monster, her voice was high pitched but carried a clear message which the beast seemed to understand for it backed away seconds later.

Kai looked around, the bullfangos were backing off too as if fearing the wrath of the human huntress. It wasn´t normal for a bullfango to act like that but he had to admit her roar was quite scary. ``How did you do that?´´ he asked to the gasping huntress, she had used all the air in her lungs in that single roar. ``What do you mean? I just told him to go away.´´ the huntress asked confused. ``How did you roar like that? It sounded…feral.´´ Kai tried to find the right words.

``Well, now that you said it…I guess I did shout. Reminds me of that time I had a shouting competition with a Naruga. Guess who won?´´ the huntress smirked but her expression soon darkened. ``We must go...´´ she said running away, the guild master raised a brow. ``_She was like a demon inside the guild, then she became a joker and now she is depressed? What in the world is wrong with her?´´ _he thought running after Yoru.

Kai´s mind was working with all the possibilities. ``_I have a bad feeling about this…why would they go to Jumbo? It was a lot easier to just throw the weapon in a lake or in the jungle….´´_ he thought. ``Because they were hired by Sapphire, I know it! She hates me as much as I hate her and I bet she would pay them to do this.´´ Yoru spoke. ``How did you keep reading my mind?! It´s the second time!´´ Kai argued. ``You were just speaking, I just heard you talking why did they go to Jumbo.´´ the huntress answered looking back.

``My comrades say I keep doing that, it is a very annoying habit and I can´t get rid of it. Fortunately I don´t do this while I am spying a thief, would blow my cover and everything.´´ Kai answered. ``I am relieved to hear this.´´ Yoru murmured, then a thought passed through her head so she stopped, the hunter stumbled on her back. ``I heard your whole speech as you complained about everything. Keep in mind that the sword is a relic. It is as important to the Felyne Comrades as the Hero´s Blade is to the villagers so pay it a little respect. I almost lost my life twice trying to bring that sword back with me.´´ the huntress looked down at the hunter with her blind eye.

Kai looked at the blind eye, it was the first time he noticed it because almost in all occasions she had her back turned to him or he didn´t pay attention. ``_Now she is acting like a hero.´´ _he thought_**, **_making sure he wasn´t saying anything. ``So you lost your eye, I have members who had their legs cut or the arms or a nasty cut on the….´´ he was going to finish but the huntress interrupted. ``And I fought Kushala to save my friends and I would fight with him again if it was necessary.´´ Yoru turned and walked away, she was trying to keep her head cold and her blades away from her "company". It was painful to keep having memories of Rick, ``_But he deserves to be remembered…´´_ her own voice echoed in her head, during the rest of the trip she debated on these words.

**(Days Later)**

It was an exhaustive trip filled with velociprey encounters, failed Melynx attacks and even a Yian Kut Ku but they were finally close to Jumbo. Fortunately their armors were just scratched, their muscles, however…

``I shouldn´t have drank that energy drink.´´ Kai protested grabbing his leg, ``What´s the matter? I thought you were trained to walk for days.´´ Yoru said jumping up and down a few times, a gleeful smile on her face. ``Why are you so happy?´´ the hunter asked annoyed, he learned to hate these mod shifts. ``I am just a bit tired, this means I have more endurance than you.´´ the smile was so wide that part was covered by the helm.

``Whatever…We should be close to the village.´´ Kai rubbed his leg and then stood up. ``Need some help?´´ Yoru asked worried, ``No, I´m fine. I can walk alone.´´ the hunter answered. ``Okay, it´s better for you to stretch your limits.´´ Yoru said placing her hand on the man´s shoulder, she pressed him down but the man resisted(barely). ``Why did you do that?´´ Kai asked grunting, ``To check if you weren´t lying.´´ the huntress answered. ``Because if you were, I would be forced to carry you around.´´ Yoru frowned.

After a few minutes they finally reached Jumbo´s gate. It was a large piece of wood surrounded by a rock wall reinforced by metal plates on the bottom. Three guards were placed on front of the gate. ``I once tried to raise a wall like this.´´ Yoru commented looking at the sturdy wall. ``You´re joking right?´´ Kai asked, ``No, saved 80 thousand zen but gave up. You know, they are futile against wyverns.´´ the huntress shrugged, two guards approached.

``Returning from a job?´´ a guard asked, ``Actually, we´re on a job.´´ Kai showed his identification which stated he was a "HH". ``HH Guild Master of Kokoto? Who are going after?´´ the second guard said quite surprised . Kai raised a brow but his helm covered any expression he noticed the huntress slowly going for the blades on her back. The huntress took note of the third guard, ``_The only ones who call them HH are…´´ _she thought barely touching the hilts of the swords.

``Hey Miranda!´´ Kai called looking back at the huntress, Yoru was about to ask when she noticed Kai doing a small gesture with his fingers. ``What´s the matter?´´ she asked faking a worried tone though she was indeed curious. ``I think we should start looking…here!´´ Kai suddenly turned and jumped at the first guard, he punched the man straight in the face. The second one was about to interfere when a swift huntress lunged at him, she toppled him to the ground and before he could do anything he felt a blade close to his neck. ``I have nothing against your death.´´ she said.

A horn was heard and so the two looked up, the third guard had sounded the alarm. ``Yoru! Sheath your sword for heaven´s sake!´´ Kai said tense, he had just toppled the guard but to actually attack a suspect was something more troublesome. ``Fine, fine Yoru placed her sword on her back but held the man by the neck. Soon a group of five guards joined the third and together they came with their weapons drawn.

``Leave them now or we will shoot. You are under arrest for attacking a guard ´´ the third guard said aiming his bowgun at Kai together with another man, the three others aimed their weapons at Yoru. ``Finally you came, a little help is welcome here.´´ the man under Yoru mumbled but she tightened her grip forcing him to shut up.

``I am guild master of Kokoto´s "Retrievers" and this is my client. These men are suspect of being equipment thieves.´´ the guild member said as he showed his identification. ``My name is George, I was recently promoted by Jumbo´s Chief. What makes you think they are suspects?´´ the third guard asked, he was recently moved to this position to reinforce the security and found odd his new companions were quite surprised by his presence the first time they met.

``They called him a "HH".´´ Yoru answered looking at a short sword aimed at her neck, she carefully moved it aside with her finger. ``Only thieves call them by this name.´´ she finished moving another sword which was too close for her comfort. The guards immediately turned their weapons at the two suspects. All guards were trained to recognize many specific terms, especially terms commonly used by thieves and so they were discouraged to use these words.

After further confirmation the real guards held down the suspects, Kai´s document was legit and the suspects didn´t have any with them, which was something a guard should always carry. ``Sorry for mistaking you as a criminal.´´ George apologized, ``Don´t worry, you were just doing your job.´´ Kai answered looking at the suspects.

``Why I get the feeling they know something about my sword?´ Yoru said looking at the kneeled men, she stared at them with disgust. ``You will tell where is my sword and who paid you to do this or I will have to cut your arms, eye, legs…You can live without them.´´ Yoru grabbed her swords for emphasis. They had interrogated the bandits at Kokoto but they didn´t know anything about the one who asked them, they just received a letter with a promise of 100 thousand zen if the job was well made. The hunters combined to let Yoru fake an angry reaction to force them to say something, much to the woman´s irritation.

The suspects looked at the guards, they didn´t move an inch to protest at their favor. The two men looked at each other and then to the blades. ``Let´s start with your arms, shall we? You have 5 seconds to spit out. Five, four, three…´´ the huntress raised her blades upwards.

``Fine! Fine! We will talk! We will talk!´´ the suspects covered their heads with both hands. ``Spit out!´´ Yoru shouted. ``We met a woman in the forest some days ago, she said she wanted a particular sword and would give us a chest full of machalite ores if we brought it to her.´´ the first said, ``What she looked like?´´ Yoru asked. ``We don´t know! She wore a hood with a black veil on her head.´´ the second answered. ``What did you do with the sword?´´ Kai asked approaching, ``Boss and the rest stayed in Kokoto to slow down you while we got away with the weapon. The woman paid us and said she wanted the sword as far as possible from Kokoto so we brought it to Jumbo, we nearly died trying to take the sword here. That sword is heavy!´´ the first protested.

``I know it´s heavy. Now! Where is your hideout?!´´ Yoru pointed the blades towards the duo, they looked at each other. ``Tell her! I rather be in prison than dead!´´ the second bandit said to his friend. ``But boss said to never speak about our hideout.´´ the first argued. ``Your boss was arrested.´´ Kai told. ``I personally defeated him and the rest of your gang, so spit out where is your hideout!´´ Yoru slashed with her swords, the tip of the blades scratched the bandit´s chest plate cutting the armor in half, the metal fell to the ground with a CLANK. Everyone looked amazed at the precision of the attacks, even the chainmail under the armor was cut.

``In the Mines!´´ both shouted at the same time. ``There is a hidden and narrow passageway! We use it to hide our zen and weapons! We can take you there just don´t kill us!´´ they begged bowing. ``My part is done, now do your job.´´ Yoru said serious as she put the swords on her back.

**(Jumbo´s Mines)**

Kai raised his torch over his head, ``I would never find this place in this labyrinth. Come here Yoru.´´ he said gesturing the huntress to come closer. The bandits were held by a group of five guards, including George. The room was dark but there were plenty of unlit torches on the walls, ``Help me lit them.´´ Kai said and the huntress nodded.

The room was filled with trembling orange flames which danced from left to right. The air was thick and it was slightly hard to breath. Boxes filled with weapons were placed on the left and the ones containing zen in the far right, tables and beds were spread all across the place. ``Now where you put the sword?´´ Yoru asked to the bandits, her torch dangerously close to their faces. ``In that table with the chest.´´ one of the bandits said looking at said table with his head. The huntress looked at the other side, she spotted a chest and what looked like a longsword.

`` come here!´´ Yoru called the guild master, ``Stop calling me that, my name means chaos not trouble!´´ Kai protested but nonetheless walked towards the huntress, the guards chuckled at the nickname. Yoru placed the twin swords more to the right of her back so she could put the longsword together with them. She opened the chest with a grunt and almost fell back when it finally opened. ``I forgot how heavy this sword is.´´ she said satisfied to have her sword back. Kai looked inside the chest, his eyes widened when he saw it was filled with blue stones. ``These are machalites ores, they must be worth more than a thousand zen!´´ Kai said surprised, ``_Whoever did this must be rich. This is serious, if an influential person is involved…´´ _Kai thought. ``You´re doing it again.´´ Yoru said grabbing one of the stones.

The perfectly crafted stone was of a deep blue akin to the sea, it was pure without any impurity or crack. The torch´s flames produced a dancing reflection on the stone, making it appear as a blue flame was inside the precious object. Something snapped inside Yoru´s head.

_``Mom! Father!´´ Yoru rushed through the wood, she had seen a dark fog contaminating the sky, somewhere dangerously close to where she lived. She desperately ran, branches scratched her clothes and thorns spiked her skin but she still continued. Finally the young woman reached the clearing, she stopped to watch something she could only describe as a nightmare. The house was burning, but the flames weren´t the common orange, they were a vivid and light blue. The heat was intense and even from a safe distance it felt like she was just a half meter from the fire. _

_``Mom!´´ the young one called but the only answer were the sparks popping around. Yoru rushed to the door and tried to open it but the ceiling few down, blocking the entrance. ``Father!´´ she backed away to avoid the fire, she went for the door at the side of the house but then stumbled upon something and fell down._

_``Ouch!´´ she exclaimed rubbing her chin, when she looked back at what caused her fall her heart sunk. There, laying on the ground, was her father. ``Father! Father!´´ the daughter called, his armor was completely destroyed , the lance and shield broken, there was a huge gash on his stomach and burning marks covered most of the exposed flesh. ``Yoru…´´ he murmured, his eyes closed and the mouth dry._

_``Dad! What happened?! Where is Mom?!´´ the girl called, ``You need to run…to Kokoto…that beast…is a nightmare, I thought…I would…never…´´ the man extended his hand to touch his daughter´s face. ``Never…see..´´ he tried to finish but then all his strength vanished, his head went limp and his arm fell down. ``Dad! Dad! Wake up! Wake up!´´ the daughter called. Then she felt a presence close by and so looked up, two red eyes gazed upon her soul. _

``Are you okay?´´ Kai asked, the huntress shook her head. ``What happened?´´ she asked confused, ``You are staring at this machalite ore for about five minutes now.´´ the guild master answered. ``I remember now…´´ Yoru looked away, ``What did you say?´´ Kai asked. _``I remember now, how everything happened…´´ _the huntress looked down at the stone. ``This is not machalite, this is…Sapphire.´´ Yoru said angry, now she knew why she hated this shade of blue. ``Sapphire?´´ everyone said surprised, the guards came closer to check.

``It IS Sapphire!´´ the others confirmed grabbing some stones to inspect. ``This must cost a fortune! Even more than machalite ores! But who could afford such reward?´´ Kai asked/thought. ``There is only one family in Kokoto who have access to a good quantity of sapphire…and only one woman who had reasons to do this… Yue Sapphire!´´ Yoru tightened her grip over the gem.

**(Kokoto)**

Derek looked at the sky for the hundredth time that day. Something bothered him to no end, it was a feeling of dread. The sun was setting and the sky seemed to be red, not a mix of orange, yellow and red, it was mostly red. They had received a message from a trained hawk 2 days ago telling she should arrive at the end of 7 days counting from their departure. The message was short because the paper had to be small so nothing else was written. If everything went well she should be arriving tonight or the next morning. ``_But I bet she will try to arrive today.´´ _the hunter chuckled.

A roar echoed through the sky, alerting all the hunters. It was long, powerful and it could rival even a Monoblo´s roar. Derek looked around trying to find the source of the sound, he saw hunters rushing left and right trying to do the same thing. ``Did you hear that?!´´ Elvis asked watching the sky. ``Yes, but I don´t know where it came from.´´ the azure hunter answered. The monster roared again, this time it was louder and lasted only a few seconds. The hunters heard the horn blowing a long note, this was the note all villagers dreaded. A guard ran towards Derek and some hunters, ``There is a Rathian coming from the North! It is stomping its way to the gate, we need to form a defense line there before it arrives!´´ he shouted to everyone.

Derek looked forward, it would take some minutes to reach the village´s border. ``A Rathian? We have to sedate it before it enters the gate! Who is a bowgunner?!´´ Elvis asked, five hunters raised their hands. ``Bring all the sleeping and paralyzing toxin shells you have! We have to avoid the worst!´´ the horn user gestured for the hunters to follow him to the gate. Derek rubbed his chin, ``That´s not a Rathian´s roar…it is slightly different…´´ he said to himself, the roar echoed again, this time a lot stronger. ``Come on man! You will be helpful!´´ a hunter called, the azure hunter looked around and then followed the man.

A group of 30 hunters stood in front of the gate, the group was composed of hunters of four stars with some more experienced three stars hunters. They had a group of seven gunners with light bowguns ready with sleeping and paralyzing toxin shells and eight with heavy bowguns loaded with cluster shells and other heavy shells in their backpacks. The rest of the group was mixed with. The remaining available hunters were aiding the villagers in the evacuation, Shen and the others were moving to the most southern part of the village. They couldn´t go to the forest because there weren´t enough hunters to protect them from the monsters that lurk there, especially because it was almost night and with the reduced visibility the villagers would be easy prey to the velociprey.

A black entity emerged from the top of the trees, its wings spread to the sides. ``There it is! Fire the cluster shells!´´ Derek and Elvis ordered at the same time. Even though they weren´t designed as leaders no one else questioned their orders, the guards were aiding the villagers and the other hunters hadn´t the will or desire to lead.

Eight heavy bowguns fired at the incoming Rathian and all of the shells reached their target. The beast roared in pain when each shell exploded into three minor ones and then these minor shells exploded at the same time, 24 simultaneous explosions completely covered the monster´s body. The Rathian fell to the ground, creating a huge smoke of dusk on the area. ``Fire the paralyzing shells!´´ Derek pointed, the light bowgun users fired a wave of seven shots and then fired again, depleting their magazines. The gunners finished reloading and were ready to fire at any moment but Derek raised his hand. ``Fire the sleeping shells!´´ the azure hunter ordered and the hunters obeyed. After a few seconds a hunter sighed, ``Well…that was easy.´´ a hunter sighed, the rest sighed too.

A growl came from the smoke, without a warning the Rathian came running from the smoke. It was different, the scales were black, the eyes and claws were a bloody red. ``Fire the craig shots! Fire!´´ Derek ordered, fear filled his voice. Normally he wouldn´t fear a rushing monster, even less a Rathian but this Rathian was different, the colors gave a more menacing appearance but something stirred more than anything. Red eyes that seemed to contain an uncontrollable rage. ``_Red eyes…´´ _Yoru´s words echoed through his mind.

The bowgunners fired the shells but when they were about to hit their targets the beast jumped to the side. ``What?!´´ the gunners exclaimed surprised. ``Charge!´´ a lance user shouted running forward with the greatshield raised, six hunters followed behind, the gunners remained behind with Derek, they were reloading their weapons. ``Wait! This is not a common Rathian!´´ Derek warned but no one heard him, Elvis stood at his side playing a tune as the other hunters watched. It was a bad idea to attack all at the same time, they could easily attack one another by accident and the concentration required to avoid any friendly fire was a hard thing to maintain. Also, by watching the monster they could analyze its abilities or tendencies, some Rathians behaved differently from others.

Huffs of black smoke came from the Black Rathian´s mouth, the lancer who shouted before approached the beast with the weapon ready to pierce its underbelly, two sns hunters attacked from the sides. However when they came too close the Rathian moved his head upwards and raised the large wings. A white gas erupted from its underbelly, stopping the hunters on their tracks. The hunters coughed as they retreated, their armors seemed to melt and corrode. ``It is corrosive!´´ the lancer exclaimed looking at his armor. Before any of the hunters could do anything the Rathian jumped back and then fired three dark blue fireballs, killing the three hunters.

``What?!´´ Derek exclaimed surprised, at first he thought it was sleeping gas but it was way worse. If the gas could corrode armor, the beast could easily kill each one of them. ``Gunners! Fire! Fire the fastest you can!´´ the azure hunter ordered, the bowgunners stepped forward and aimed at the monster, it was facing a group of greatsword users to the left. Five gunners fired at the monster but it stepped back, dodging the shells. A hammer user tried to attack from behind but the Rathian made a full 360° spin, knocking him down and quickly facing the greatsword users again.

Five gunners tried to shoot but the Rathian jumped doing a backflip and hitting a greatsword hunter with its tail. The other two prepared to do a quick heavenly impact as the monster landed. When the Rathian´s feet touched the ground the hunters brought their weapons down, hitting the monster´s head. The beast fell to the ground, its eyes closed. The greatsword users gave a step back to check if the monster was dead, they were tired from doing the "heavenly impact" attack. ``Do it again!´´ Derek called, if a common Rathian could survive his attack straight to the head, he doubted the Black Rathian couldn´t handle two of them.

As if to answer the azure hunter´s worst thoughts, the beast suddenly jerked up roaring at the top of its lungs as it moved the head in an arch. Everyone covered their ears in agony, the roar was unbearable. Before the hunters could recover the Black Rathian bitted one of the greatsword users, fire and black smoke emanated from the mouth. The man cried in agony as the beast moved the head to the sides. Finally the monster closed its mouth, crushing the man´s bones and killing him. With a move of the head the creature launched the body at the remaining hunter.

``This is not a fight! This is a massacre!´´ Elvis said as the monster turned towards them, the beast raised its head upwards, ``Dodge!´´ Derek shouted preparing to jump away. A lancer stood in the front with his greatshield up, it was covered with Gravios´s rocky scales. What came from the Rathian´s mouth, however, was not a fireball but a blue beam of fire. The hunter was pushed back as the beam clashed with his shield, breaking the fire resistant scales one by one. He screamed as he tried to keep the shield up. After a few seconds of struggled the pressure stopped, just as the hunter was about to give up. When he lowered the shield the heavy equipment cracked, the last scales broke and then the rest of the shield(which was composed of bones) broke, turning into several pieces.

``My Gods…´´ Derek murmured as he looked at the scene, that Rathian had used a move only know to be used by Basaraios and Gravios. These monsters were fierce rocky wyverns with super protective scales that were hard and incredible good against flames and lava. If the shield broke, then that meant this fire beam was way stronger than the one used by the rock covered wyverns and this was… something unthinkable.

After recovering from the initial shock almost every hunter alive ran after the monster, if the Black Rathian pass through the gates then it could completely destroy the village. This beam proved this and none of them would want their houses and friends pulverized. ``I guess we have no choice now.´´ Derek said grabbing his greatsword, ``I will keep playing the longest I can. Do what you have to do!´´ Elvis exclaimed as he played the horn. ``Attract it to the forest! We can´t fight it here!´´ Derek shouted running after the Rathian. Ten hunters prepared a simultaneous attack and the rest aimed at the monster´s back.

A hammer user started to attack the monster´s legs, striking once, twice and then spun to deliver a diagonally swing. The last attack produced large vibration waves across the hunter´s arms, stunning him. The Black Rathian, however, did not even flinch and did a hip check, sending the hunter away. The monster raised its head upwards and with the torso inclined almost vertically fired three fireballs at the incoming hunters. They rolled to the side and continued onward.

The greatsword user who had previously been incapacitated by the body of a fallen hunter ran from the left flank of the monster. The Rathian lowered its head and then used its tail as a whip to strike the man down, the spikes on the tail penetrated the armor and the chest of the hunter. The dark creature turned the head to see the remaining hunters. A wave of shells hit the spikes on its back, a spot where the scales were slightly weaker. The monster groaned in pain as more shells hit the same spot again and again, distracting the creature enough to allow the melee hunters to reach attack range.

It was a complete chaos. Seven hunters stroke the fastest they could as they tried to push the monster back to the forest. A duo of hunters wearing loprey armor danced with their twin blades, they continuously attacked the Rathian´s leg. The lancer who lost his greatshield used both hands to hold the long weapon, he was poking the monster in the head to make it step back, another lancer helped him by shielding a bite from the creature and together both poked the monster´s head. Derek aimed at the left wing, he brought the heavy sword down several times to cause the most damage he could. If the Black Rathian couldn´t fly then it couldn´t pass through them and go directly to the village. Two longsword users worked together to hit the other wing.

The Black Rathian groaned and flinched constantly, it slowly walked back to the forest it came from. The attacks were painful, yes, but most weren´t causing any real damage. The small blades of the "dancers" couldn´t really penetrate the scales of the legs, the lances were dangerously sharp and could pierce the weakened scales of the head but the monster was letting the pressure do its job and was moving the neck to kind of reduce the force of the impact. The longswords and greatsword attacks, however, were the most painful. The wings were only protected by bones covered in scales, with little area to absorb the impact of the blades. The bone structure was hard enough to stop the blades from cutting the wings´ webbing but it wasn´t hard as the other parts of the body.

The hunters felt more motive as they made progress, the gunners had their senses sharpened by Elvis´s tune and were hitting every shot. The ammo was normal but of high quality and consecutive shots of 15 bowguns were something to fear.

When the Black Rathian was just a few meters away from the border of the forest it stopped retreating. It stomped the ground to keep the same position, it ignored the flurry of attacks it receive and then moved its head upwards. The roar was far louder than the last one, Derek who had earplugs had to cover his ears with his hands, it felt like his head was going to explode. The "dancers" who had high grade earplugs had to cover their ears too along with everybody. A longsword user even felt like he couldn´t hear anymore.

It was a lingering pain, the monster took the opportunity to jump several meters in the air. Feeling the wind gust the hunters did their best to overcome the pain, they looked upwards and saw the creature charging a fireball. Because of experiences with Rathalos the dual swords hunters jumped under the shadow of the monster. A lancer raised its shield to protect himself and the lancer who lost his shield. A longsword user ran away and other was stunned by the wind. Derek raised his greatsword to use it as a shield.

The Black Rathian fired a fireball under its own shadow, hitting the defenseless hunters. Then she proceeded to spin around firing five more fireballs around her, making a full circle of blue flames. To complete the unexpected move the monster fell down, crushing both the unfortunate hunters who were already charred in flames and the others were pushed back by the force of the wind caused by the fall. The gunners and Elvis were too much shocked to do anything, the winning group of seven hunters was now reduced to four and they were in a disadvantageous position.

``This is impossible! I´m out!´´ the fleeing longsword user said running back to the village, Elvis was already going to stop him and make him fight but he hadn´t the chance. The black Rathian fired a fireball at the hunter, the projectile hit him straight in the back. The hunter fell to the ground lifeless, smoke raised from his body. ``You!´´ Elvis looked at a gunner, the expression of both hunters was of terror. ``Go back and tell them to go to the forest! They are not safe in the village!´´ Elvis ordered but his tone was of despair, he doubted they would survive this battle. The designed hunter trembled when he looked beyond Elvis´s shoulder, the beast was looking directly at them. ``Go now!´´ the horn user shouted, the hunter gulped but ran back to the village.

Derek heard the order so he got up and whistled, now his objective was to distract the Black Rathian until all the villagers were actually evacuated. His heart was pounding, he never thought that such monster existed. It was like the Rathian was adapting to their strategies, getting faster and more relentless as the battle went on. He had faced a raging Monoblos before, but this was something completely different. It felt like every time the Rathian roared, the rage deepened and the stamina replenished. Normally a monster would enrage for a while and then slow down but this monster was actually getting stronger! He wondered if the beast was actually using all its potential and after what he saw…he really doubted this.

The Black Rathian turned its head towards Derek, puffs of blue and red fire were coming from its mouth. For the surprise of the hunter the monster simply turned its head to the right. The creature used its tail to attack a lancer, fortunately the man blocked the attack with its shield. But the material was burned from the previous attack and now was heavily damaged by the spikes, it would not sustain another attack.

**(Meanwhile)**

The villagers stood in the most southern part of the village. The streets were filled with mothers, sons,workers and elders who were apprehensive. Some suggested fleeing to the forest but Shen told them to stay. The Sun was almost gone from the horizon and soon it would become night, they wouldn´t last a nigh in the woods with only some guards. The guards were trained to use sns but their skills were only average and most didn´t have sufficient field experience or have ever faced something more dangerous than a velociprey or two in the past. With almost half the hunters busy doing jobs and the other half fighting the Rathian they hadn´t a choice but to wait for the success of their protectors.

The felynes were scared, some white felynes became Felyne Comrades in the past months but most was still used to the simple and safe life of the village. Gray and his crew, however, had their small lances and hammers ready and their armors on. They urged to go fight the monster but Gray said they had to protect the villagers and aid the less experienced hunters and guards. There were only 20 hunters ranging from one star to two stars, 50 guards, about 10 Felyne Comrades and 500 villagers to protect. There was NO WAY they could take care of all the civilians in the forest.

A hunter came running from the North of the village, many including Shen approached. They all expected good news, after all it was a group of 30 hunters against a single Rathian! They heard the roars of the creature from time to time but they couldn´t say if they were of pain or rage. But they were 30 hunters! 8 hunters were already too much against a common Rathian, 30 would be overkill.

``Did you kill it?´´ Shen asked to the gasping hunter, ``It is…a demon!´´ he said breathing heavily, everyone looked at him confused. ``It is a Black Rathian arf arf! From the depths of hell!´´ the hunter looked back fearing the far away monster. ``You are not lying, are you?´´ Shen asked narrowing his eyes, he was not found of these jokes.

``No! There are only 18 hunters left counting with me!´´ the man shuddered with fear, his eyes were wide and sweat fell from his face. ``You´re joking man! There is no such thing as a Black Rathian!´´ a newbie hunter argued. ``If you don´t believe me then go see for yourself! It fired a beam of fire that broke a Gravios´ shield! A Gravios´ shield!´´ the man fell down to his knees, his heart was pounding too hard.

**(Kokoto´s Gate)**

The gunners wielding light bowguns fired another wave of shots at the Black Rathian but the monster jumped to the side, the gunners using heavy bowgus fired piercing shells but for their surprise the creature jumped into the air. Instead of flying upwards the Rathian kept flapping its wings close to the ground then it stopped flapping the right wing and moved it backwards. The monster moved the wing forward, five giant spikes flew from the wing like deadly black darts. Five gunners were struck down by the attack.

``Divide!´´ Elvis ordered running, the remaining hunters dispersed to avoid being hit by another wave of spikes.

**(With Shen)**

This is it! Meow!´´ Pasir said standing in front of the hunter, ``We need to help! It is our duty!´´ he stated, all the other Felyne Comrades nodded. ``But we also need to protect those people.´´ Gray pointed to the villagers behind him. ``I know! Meow! But Nightfury would fight! People are dying to keep us safe! ´´ Pasir protested, Wai stepped in. ``Nyah! I don´t know very well this Nightfury but she is scary! She is angry and almost destroyed the "Retrievers" guild! Why would we follow her attitude?´´ the female felyne argued. She was young and only heard of the original Nightfury through night stories. From what she saw the currently Nightfury was a bloody and uncontrollable woman who had no qualms of hitting even other humans.

``Nightfury is kind! Harsh with training but she actually care about us! The men she defeated were thieves that stole Nightfury´s sword! She already saved us from that Naruga before! Something no one else managed to do!´´ Pasir protested. ``But if we go we will be killed! I don´t want to die!´´ the young grey felyne said. ``Nyah! Coward!´´ Pasir pointed his lance towards Wai who wasn´t a Felyne Comrade.

``Enough!´´ both Gray ordered hitting his staff on the ground. ``Pasir! Lower your weapon now!´´ the leader commanded and the felyne obeyed. ``But chief! Meow! We can´t let our home be destroyed! Not again!´´ Pasir pointed to the North with his spear, all the grey felynes looked at the same direction. Gray turned his head to the West, the Sun was already gone but the Sky was still red and orange, he turned to the East where the sky was starting to turn a dark blue.

**(Flashback)**

``_I´m going to find this Rathian, no matter what.´´ a man said as he grabbed a backpack, he wore a brown armor made of Diablo´s materials, the horns of the monster were attached to his head. ``What is a Rathian?´´ a young Gray asked, he hadn´t any clothes but the felyne didn´t care. ``A Rathian is a fierce wyvern, they are all female because their counterparts are different. I never heard of her counterparts living in the desert, but I know some Rathians adapted to this environment. I know that footprint very well.´´ the hunter said. ``Meow! But you are the only one left! If we lose you then who will defend us?´´ the Felyne protested grabbing the hunter´s legs._

_``I HAVE to kill that Rathian, these monsters are very territorial and the footprint is too close to the tribe. It will think we are intruders and attack everyone. No, I must go.´´ the hunter grabbed Gray and put him on the ground. ``If I don´t find any clues I will return after seven days. You will have to be carefully in the meantime.´´ Nightfury said looking to the West where the Sun was setting. ``Promise?´´ Gray asked, ``What?´´ the man asked looking back. ``Promise me you will be back in seven days.´´ Gray had tears on his eyes._

_``I promise, my friend.´´ the hunter caressed the cat´s head. ``For now you are responsible for the safety of the village, don´t disappoint me.´´ the hunter stood up._

**(End of the Flashback)**

Gray shed a tear, how could he? The former Nightfury asked him to protect the village while he was away. Sadly the hunter couldn´t fulfill his promise but he was dead so he fought to the end. Now that the current Nightfury was away he was just waiting for the hunters to do their jobs, exactly what all his crew promised to never do again. That´s why they become Felyne Comrades after all, isn´t it? To help hunters defend their own home from monsters.

``Are you okay, meow?´´ a grey felyne asked. ``I´m fine, I was just remembering Nightfury´s last words.´´ the leader said rubbing his tear away. ``Pasir is right, we cannot stay here and let our friends die. All Felyne Comrades, go to the gate´s entrance and aid our friends! Nightfury should arrive tonight so let´s show her what we are capable of! Pasir is your leader this time!´´ the leader pointed his staff to the North. All the Felyne Comrades commemorated, they went on four paws and rushed to the gate, Pasir was leading the group. Truth was every Comrade was eager to help but they had to protect the civilians. They had respect for Gray and would follow his orders because he was the wisest of the felynes. Now that they received direct orders to do what they were wanting to do they couldn´t be more happy.

``You are going to die! ´´ the messenger hunter shouted but the Felyne Comrades were already far away. ``Those felynes have the spirits of true hunters.´´ Shen noticed standing at Gray´s side. ``Yes, meow! I only hope they return because they would give their lives to kill that thing.´´ the cat leader commented slightly worried.

**(With Derek)**

The sky was completely dark now, the night was clear of any stars or clouds. Smoke reached the skies.

The situation was terrible, somehow during the fight the Black Rathian decided simply to rush at the gate and invade the village, ignoring all callings, swears and whistling the hunters were doing to attract the monster away from Kokoto. Deciding it was futile to continue this strategy they started to fight back. Their morals, however, were almost gone by now. Many houses were burning and some were destroyed when the monster ran through it. They were almost at the center of the village, it the beast went any further then it would end up reaching the Southern part of Kokoto. Derek prayed the people had fled, but he knew they would hardly believe the messenger´s story.

There were only 7 hunters left, Derek, Elvis, the shieldless lancer and 4 gunners wielding light bowguns. Derek was surprised the lancer was still alive, he wore Gravios armor and had no shield yet he managed to dodge most of the attacks. Derek´s blade had a huge dent on the middle section and the scales were heavily burned. Fortunately the main structure was still holding strong.

``Look out!´´ two gunners shouted as they prepared to jump, the Rathian was preparing a fire beam. The monster moved the head to the left and then fired the beam, it moved the head from the left to the right in a swooping motion. The attack barely missed the fallen hunters who felt the extreme hot close to their backs. The houses that were hit by the beam crumbled instantly, the pillars had been pulverized along with the wood.

The Black Rathian raised its head, it had spotted a group of gray Felynes coming from the other side of the street. The monster growled, red and blue fire were puffing from its mouth. Elvis ran with his horn ready, he slammed the giant object at the monster´s leg with everything he had. The creature flinched as it lost its balance and fell to the ground. ``Now! The underbelly! ´´ Derek shouted. The hunter ran to the right as the monster struggled to get up. Derek stood at the monster´s side and prepared to strike with everything he got. The lancer ran forward with his weapon extended, he would pierce the creature´s heart or at least a vital organ. Meanwhile Elvis was hitting the Rathian´s head several times to keep it down and exposed.

Derek was about to attack when a white gas occluded his vision, he coughed as he backed away from the monster, the lancer did the same. A blue flame started to coat the monster´s mouth, noticing this Elvis rolled to the side, a blue fireball barely hit his legs. Derek looked at his armor, the scales were being corroded and the metal plate seemed to be slowly melting and deforming. ``This is not good.´´ he said backing away, the lancer´s armor was mostly intact, the gas had only corroded the surface of the rocky scales. The Rathian stood up and shook its head.

``Meow!´´ Pasir exclaimed as he approached the battle, he looked scared at the burning and destroyed houses, this was way worse than he expected. The felyne spotted Derek ducking under a tail sweep and Elvis dodging a bite from the Black Rathian, he had t save them. ``We are coming! Meow!´´ he shouted, the hunters and monster looked at the incoming group of Felyne Comrades.

Pasir passed through two gunners, he grabbed a flash bomb from his pocket and then threw hit at the Black Rathian, ``Flash Bomb!´´ he warned just as the sphere bounced off the monster´s head. Everyone covered their faces.

The Felyne Comrades launched themselves at the Black Rathian except for Pasir who ran towards Derek. The azure clad hunter was breathing heavily with his greatsword craved vertically on the ground to act as support. ``Pasir?! What are you doing here?´´ the hunter asked surprised. ``Meow! We´re the reinforcements! What can we do?´´ the felyne talked fast.

``Two gunners fell somewhere on the other side of the street, send a Felyne to heal them!´´ the hunter said looking at the monster, it was blindly trying to shake the Felyne Comrades off its back. A Felyne Comrade fell from the beast, Pasir gestured him to come closer. ``Meow?!´´ the felyne asked. ``Go there, wounded hunters!´´ Pasir ordered.

``Out of ammo!´´ the remaining gunners called, ``Dam it! Find some shells in the houses! Steal them if necessary but nothing else!´´ Derek said. The duo ran to a nearby house, they knew this one was occupied by a hunter. One of them used his bowgun to break the window.

``Nyah!´´ the felynes shouted, the monster had done a sudden hip check launching everyone from its back. Pasir looked around, ``How many hunters left?´´ he asked searching around, the cat spotted Elvis and a lancer running towards him. ``5 capable hunters counting with us.´´ the greatsword user stated, ``Nyah?! Where is the rest?´´ the felyne exclaimed. ``Look out!´´ Elvis warned. They looked at where the hunter was pointing, the Black Rathian was rushing at them at an alarming speed.

Both hunter and felyne jumped out of the way but the monster continued, it was going straight into Elvis and the lancer. The horn user prepared to attack with his weapon using it like a hammer while the lancer turned to the side to avoid the attack. When the hunter was about to swing the beast jumped back out of range, it smoothly flapped its wings before landing again. Spotting the lancer trying to go to the right the monster prepared to fire a fire beam. The sweeping attack hit the houses, setting them ablaze as the hunter ran for his life. He barely managed to avoid the beam.

``Attack the fur on its back! It is more sensitive there!´´ Derek said to the Felyne Comrades. Blue flames surrounded the hunters, the fire was the only source of light in that night besides the Black Rathian´s red eyes. The felynes ran after the creature, the monster spotted them after turning trying to get the lancer. Pasir and more two felynes jumped at the monster´s face trying to get on its back but the monster jumped upwards. The Black Rathian continued to flap its wings, getting out of the range of the hunters.

``Gunners!´´ Derek called, the two hunters exited the house the fastest they could. ``Fire before it escapes!´´ the azure hunter ordered, the men aimed at the flying wyvern but the shots missed. The Black Rathian proceeded to fly towards the South, going straight where the villagers where located. ``It is going after the civilians!´´ Elvis noticed. The Black Rathian fired several fireballs at the houses as it progressed to the other side of the village, many buildings and deposits were set ablaze.

We failed, there is no way to attack it before it reaches the villagers.´´ Elvis stated. ``We can at least try to kill it before everyone dies, come on! We need to go!´´ Derek gestured for the rest to follow him but the hunters didn´t follow. ``There is no other choice! We kill it or the village is gone! Your families, friends and homes!´´ the azure hunter stated, ``We have no chance against it. If 30 hunters can´t stop it, nothing can.´´ a gunner said. ``You are alive, don´t you? You all survived until now! If we are alive then it means we CAN make through this. Look at that guy.´´ Derek gestured to the lancer. ``His armor is corroded and his greatshield broken yet he is still here!´´ the hunter said.

``I have to defend Kokoto, my sister is up there with everyone else. That´s why I´m still here.´´ the rock armored hunter explained, his voice was deep and profound. ``This man is right, we need to continue trying or everything we have will be destroyed.´´ the lancer said. ``But how we are going to kill that thing?´´ the second gunner asked. ``It used the gas when you were trying to attack its underbelly. It means this is her weak spot.´´ Elvis said.

``All right, now we have something. Quick! We already lost too much time here!´´ Derek said gesturing for the rest to follow, this time everyone(including the Felyne Comrades) followed him.

**(Meanwhile)**

``We´re almost there!´´ Kai said to the huntress behind him. At first he thought she would be slower than him but she was actually keeping up with his speed. ``I´m exhausted…´´ Yoru said breathing heavily but she still pressed her legs to do the job. The last trees were at their vision camp now. ``What the shigo happened?!´´ the guild master exclaimed after exiting the forest, Yoru exit a few seconds later.

``What everyone is doing here?!´´ Yoru asked confused, hundreds of people were talking simultaneously at the village´s southern border. The huntress passed through the villagers the quickest she could, pushing out people out of the way as she made her way. ``Uh? Yoru?´´ Shen asked confused turning to see the commotion behind him, ``Meow! Nightfury! You´re finally here!´´ Gray happily said.

``What´s happening here?´´ the huntress asked, ``A Rathian is attacking Kokoto so we gathered the people here since the beast is at the other side.´´ Pasir explained. ``What?! You can´t gather everyone here! It will…´´ the huntress stopped, a dark form emerged in the sky, the Moon behind it. ``The Rathian!´´ Shen said surprised, he expected it to burn the houses first and not go directly at them. The beast dived, the villagers tried to ran in various direction to avoid being smashed or burned.

The Black Rathian flied around the fleeing villagers spitting fire on the ground as it passed through. In just a few seconds a circle of fire was formed around the villagers destroying any chance of escaping the monster´s wrath. ``We´re trapped!´´ Pasir said looking around, ``I KNOW DAM IT!´´ Yoru shouted angry.

The flying wyvern, seemingly satisfied with its work, flied to the front of the screaming villagers. Yoru gritted her teeth as she grabbed her longsword, the blue flames were the same…``YOU! YOU ARE THE ONE WHO KILLED MY FAMILY!´´ Yoru shouted at the wyvern in the sky. ``GET DOWN HERE SO I CAN KILL YOU!´´ the huntress pointed her sword at the monster. Rage burned inside her, this monster was the main source of her hatred. She could forgive many things, maybe even the bastard of Yue if she begged but not the one who killed her parents.

The Black Rathian weaved its right wing, five spikes were launched creating an horizontal line. Yoru only saw the spikes when they hit the ground in front of her, everyone backed off scared of being hit but fortunately no one was pierced by the deadly projectiles. When the huntress looked at the sky the monster was flying away back to the forest where it came from. The beast spitted some fireballs at the buildings as it made its way out of the village.

Yoru punched the ground in frustration, her body trembled and her fists clenched. She screamed, screamed like she never thought would scream. The assassin of her family managed to destroy her second home the same way it destroyed her first one and like before she couldn´t do anything about it. Everyone looked confused and a bit afraid of the huntress, it seemed like she was having a mental breakdown. The screams were of rage but also contained sadness and agony.

Stopping a moment to look around the huntress spotted one of the spikes, she grabbed the material and was about to strike the ground with it when something occurred to her. She looked at the deadly weapon, the flames illuminated the black object.

This spike…´´ the huntress murmured taking a closer look at the object. Yoru gasped surprised when she identified the object, fear filled her mind but then it was substituted by a sudden rage. This creature was not only the one who killed her family and destroyed her village…this Rathian was the one who almost killed her months ago.

``I swear by all the ones who died today that I WILL KILL THIS RATHIAN! Even if we both end dead!´´ she promised as the blue flames started to fade out.

**Note: I won´t search for errors in this chapter, unless there is a major error or something that doesn´t make sense. I will probably check it later,however…**

**By the way I still have a lot to write, so don´t worry about unanswered questions about Yoru or some characters.**

**Details:In the end of the fight the Black Rathian had reached rage level 3. It seems a bit overpowered since 4 experienced players with high level gear can defeat one of these but you have to remember:**

**1-These players expect to fight the monster and have knowledge about its moves. Also, some videos on Youtube show that some hunters use skills where they survive with only 1 hp left.**

**2-In real life you can´t just drink a bunch of potions, it would cause overdose and unwanted effects. Also the effects wouldn´t be immediate, they would take some minutes to cause some proper healing. **

**3-Hunters under HR100 can only repel Black Rathian(Unknown). Kokoto´s hunters hadn´t weapons sharp enough to fully penetrate the monster´s scales. If you ever fought an elder dragon for the first time you know you get scared when it is almost killing you, your focus would be low. With increasing power and speed a "Black Rathian" can surprise pretty much every hunter, especially because it can use several moves that a common Rathian never uses.**


	21. Aftermatch

Derek reached the villagers together with the remaining hunters, the Felyne Comrades were carrying some burned companions. The azure hunter spotted Yoru crouched on the ground. ``Is everyone okay?!´´ the hunter asked, he saw the burn marks all around the villagers. ``Everyone is fine, I think.´´ Shen stepped forward, he pointed to the fallen huntress. Meanwhile Gray rushed to see his crew. ``Yoru! Yoru! Are you okay?´´ the azure hunter shook the huntress, she stood up and suddenly hugged him.

``I thought you were dead…´´ she murmured, sobbing. ``Ouch!´´ the hunter exclaimed so let huntress left him. ``Elvis?´´ Yoru asked, ``He´s fine.´´ Derek pointed to the medic hunter which was checking the villagers, the huntress sighed. ``How many?´´ she asked serious, her expression was dark. ``Deaths? 23 hunters, 2 of them are fatally injured and…3 burned felynes´´ Derek looked back at the Felyne Comrades, they were being checked by Gray. Yoru rushed to meet the cats.

The burned felynes were on the ground over some emergency sheets brought by their comrades. Wai was taking care of Pasir. ``Oh…Nightfury.´´ Pasir mumbled trying to stand up, the rest looked at the huntress with a mix of joy and sadness. ``Pasir! What happened to you?´´ the huntress crouched and grabbed the felyne with her arms. ``Meow. That Rathian was way nastier than the one we fought before, hehehe.´´ the felyne coughed. ``But we defended our home! We fought the monster…are the people safe?´´ he asked losing his voice, the huntress nodded. ``Then we did our job, protected our home while Nightfury was away. It feels good…´´ the cat coughed again. ``Don´t talk anymore, you need to rest.´´ she fought the urge to hug the felyne but it would only cause pain to the cat. Wai saw a tear falling from the huntress face.

``I´m sorry Pasir…for not being here. You did a great job, you did a really good job. You can rest for the next week or month if necessary. Just rest okay?´´ Yoru snuffled, Pasir smiled, ``Meow…thank you. Don´t worry, I won´t die. It takes more than a fireball to kill us.´´ the felyne closed his eyes, Yoru noticed that his belly was still going up and down. Felynes were actually more resistant than they looked, they could survive extreme heat and cold without too much trouble and there were reports of some surviving even nasty injuries (one of them was Yoru´s watcher).

Wai felt guilt, it looked like Pasir was telling the truth in the end, slowly she walked to talk with the huntress. ``Meow! I´m sorry, Nightfury.´´ Wai said with arms crossed in the front, ``I remember you. Water isn´t it? Or it is Wai? For what are you apologizing?´´ Yoru asked. ``Pasir and I had a discussion some minutes ago, before he rushed to help the hunters, meow. I said you were scary and violent. He argued that you were kind and I didn´t believe his words…I´m sorry.´´ the felyne bowed. ``You´re right, I lose control sometimes. It is just…THAT DAM RATHIAN!´´ Yoru shook her head, Wai backed away as the huntress gritted her teeth. The red haired woman looked at Pasir which was sleeping, with great control she calmed down and then sighed.

Yoru searched something in her pouch, she found a small flask containing a orange liquid. ``This is an immunizer, it will make his burnings heal quicker. Pour on his burnings after he awakes, he will probably scream and move so don´t be surprised. For now let him sleep.´´ the huntress gave the flask to Wai. ``Where are you going?´´ the felyne asked. ``I have to find a certain person…´´ Yoru clenched her teeth and closed her fists, she walked back to the villagers.

Meanwhile Kai caught Yue trying to sneak away, the man had caught the huntress when she tried to flee through the small streets of the village. ``Let me go! Do you know who I am?!´´ the rich woman protested, ``You´re a thief, we found your jewels with the bandits. You are under arrest!´´ the guild master stated with glaring eyes, Yue shivered at the look. Kai started to make his way back to the villagers. ``Don´t even think about offering me jewels.´´ the man said as he saw the woman looking around for a way out.

Yoru spotted the duo and so made her way towards them. ``Oh no! Don´t let her get closer! Please no!´´ Yue panicked when she saw the huntress slowly getting closer. ``I would have thought better before demanding the theft of a weapon.´´ Kai simply said. Yoru stood in front of them, the blue haired woman tried to flee but the hunter´s grip was strong.

``So! I heard you asked those thieves to steal my sword!´´ Yoru said cheerfully giving small taps on Yue´s shoulder, the blue haired huntress was shaking more than a naked man in the Southern Snowy Mountains. ``I didn´t know you wanted it so bad! You could have just asked!´´ the red haired huntress grabbed her longsword. ``Wait! Yoru, I know you are angry and everything but you can´t kill her! She will be locked in a cell for a very long time.´´ the hunter said.

``Where did you get the idea I was going to kill her?!´´ Yoru asked surprised, still keeping her cheerful voice. ``If she wants the sword, then I will give my sword! Can you turn her?´´ the red haired asked, Kai shook his head to the left and then to the right. `` Come on! I won´t strike her back or anything like that! I will simply put the sword on her back´´ the huntress smiled. ``Oh! Now I understand.´´ the hunter said forcefully tuning the huntress, ``_Won´t she be crushed by the weight?´´ _Kai thought. ``You´re doing it again.´´ Yoru denoted, she held the sword with both hands and raised it so she could put the blade on the supports.

After putting the sword into place Yoru still held it, ``Since none of my closest friends died, I am considering being "nice" with you. But 23 hunters died and that number could be way lower if I were here…I don´t know if I should do the worst way. Well, houses were burned and I HOPE some of them were your family´s deposits. Okay! I won´t do it!´´ Yoru gently pushed Yue as she left the sword on her back.

Yue fell on her back with a gasp, Yoru had to dodge to avoid the crushing weight. ``Wow! I didn´t thought it was so heavy!´´ Kai stated as he watched the blue haired huntress struggling to get up. ``This is what you get! You should be happy you know, if I didn´t push you your legs would be broken by now.´´ Yoru stood in front of Yue. ``But we can´t forget the most important! If you wish to keep the sword you have to feel what it took me to get it!´´ Yoru drew her one of her twin swords. ``No! Please don´t kill me!´´ Yue begged, Kai was going to interfere but the black armored huntress raised her left arm. ``She will feel what I felt right before I reached the sword. I didn´t die so she won´t die. I will treat any injury she receives, believe me. There won´t be any more deaths today.´´ the huntress stated, ``Because in the end, I AM a huntress of Kokoto, I can´t kill my fellow hunters, even if I want to.´´ Yoru sighed.

Yoru had a burning rage inside her body, enough rage to act as fuel for a furnace for yeas straight. However, this rage was focused on the monster responsible for most of her problems and it was far greater than the hatred for the pampered huntress. So, for now, she decided to keep this hatred in check.

The red haired huntress pointed her sword at Yue´s left eye, ``First! You must lose part of your vision!´´ Yoru stated with the blade dangerously close to said eye. ``Please! I will do anything! Money! Items! Armor! Anything!´´ Yue suggested, Yoru retreated the sword. ``Anything?´´ Yoru asked as she rubbed her chin. ``Just say! I have a lot of money anyway!´´ Yue said breathing heavily. She knew the black armored huntress hadn´t too much money but the huntress was also well known to be type of huntress who wanted to get the money by hard work. It was a 50% chance of success, 50% of blindness and 100% chance of great loss but now her life was more important.

``I have a proposition.´´ Yoru said looking back at the huntress, Yue sighed. ``I want you to help in the reconstruction of the village, I am speaking about money.´´ Yoru explained. ``But it will cost a fortune!´´ Yue questioned, the blade got closer to her eye. ``Fine! I will see what I can do!´´ the rich huntress said. ``Okay! Now let´s get the sword from your back!´´ Yoru stood up and went to the fallen huntress´s side, with a grunt she turned the woman on her belly so her back was exposed with the sword attached. After getting her sword back the red haired huntress turned to face the guild master. ``She´s all yours. I don´t have any more business with her.´´ Yoru said.

**(Later)**

The villagers walked back to their homes to see if the buildings were still intact. The most damaged area was the one close to the South Gate where many houses were utterly obliterated by the monster´s fire beam. Some houses in the East and West part of the village were also burning due to the Rathian´s fireballs when it made its way back to the forest.

The villagers gasped when they saw the bodies of some of the fallen hunters, there were a group of three gunners completely burnt on the southern part of the village. ``I told you it was a demon!´´ the messenger hunter said pointing to the bodies. Derek sighed, he wondered if the familiars would recognize the bodies so they could perform the death ritual. Yoru looked at the bodies in silence, if only she had arrived sooner!

``This was the most brutal fight I have ever seen.´´ a deep voice said, Yoru looked at her left. A heavily armored hunter stood at her side, his armor was made of Gravios parts though it had many scratches and missing scales, a silver lance was attached vertically on his back. ``You´re one of the equipment guards!´´ the huntress said surprised, ``That´s just a side job, my turn ended a few weeks ago. You are what those cats call Nightfury, right? I remember guarding your armor months ago.´´ the man moved his shoulders as if trying to adjust the armor.

``How did you survive the fight? I heard many hunters died.´´ Yoru asked, ``Survive is the key word. I lost my shield when the Rathian fired its fire beam at me and was knocked out several times. You want to know why I still stand here, don´t you?´´ the man looked at the huntress with his helm on. ``I am going to kill that Rathian, no matter what.´´ Yoru answered, her eyes shined with the Moon´s light.

``Your confidence won´t be enough. The only reason I am here tonight is because I have my sister to protect, she is the only family I have and I will protect her with my life.´´ the hunter said taking off his helm. ``That creature killed my parents…tried to kill me with a dam spike and now it attacked my home, my friends, innocent people. I WILL kill that beast.´´ Yoru stated, ``Revenge? That´s not powerful enough. You may try! But think of what would happen if you die!´´ the hunter walked away.

``_What would happen if I die?´´_ the huntress looked at the moon, ``Hey Yoru!´´ Elvis called running until he stood in front of Yoru. ``I heard some screaming a few minutes ago, do you know what happened?´´ the medic hunter asked, ``Uh…yeah. I found someone willing to pay for the reconstruction of the houses.´´ the woman answered. ``Who?´´ the hunter asked and the huntress pointed to the Moon. ``You´re joking, right? The Moon can´t pay for the houses.´´ Elvis said skeptically. ``Of course she can, with all the shining blue stars she has, they cost a fortune you now?´´ Yoru snickered leaving a hunter confused.

``I´m talking about Yue Sapphire, her first name means "Moon" in the old language.´´ Yoru explained, ``You´re going to have a bad reputation if you keep talking in the old language.´´ Elvis crossed his arms. ``Why?´´ the huntress asked. ``Most people don´t speak it, dead language and all. I think only the wyverians use it sometimes but only if necessary, like translating an old text.´´ the medic hunter answered.

``My parents taught me for some reason, maybe they thought it would be useful some day.´´ Yoru shrugged. ``Anyway, I bet you threatened Yue to help us. You know she can…´´ the hunter was interrupted, ``Yue must be locked in a cell by now, she is the one who ordered the theft of my sword. Kai, the "Retrivers" guild master, found a hideout in Jumbo with a box filled with sapphire. The bandits confirmed they received it from a woman which asked them to steal my sword.´´ Yoru kicked a small rock. ``So you actually helped in the prison of the daughter of one of the richest families in Kokoto? ´´ Elvis clapped his hands.

``Actually I was going to kill her…but the village is more important. Now all we need to do is send a messenger to Jumbo to ask for materials.´´ Yoru said, ``Shen already sent a group of hunters. The ones who lost their homes will have to sleep in other houses and we will need to keep watch over the village, bandits will soon hear about the attack and try to steal what is left from the destroyed homes. In general, it will be a long month.´´ Elvis rubbed his belly, his thirst for knowledge was very useful when learning about strategies.

``How many houses were destroyed?´´ the huntress asked, ``I don´t know, the fire beams pierced the buildings, I bet each attack destroyed at least three aligned houses.´´ Elvis answered. ``I expected you to be running into the woods by now. Why are you still here?´´ Elvis asked. ``When I was searching for Unknown, or Naruga, I left Rick behind to his own luck. Later I went to his camp but the monster was already there, we fought it together but he died. No, I won´t risk going to the forest and put the village in risk.´´ Yoru answered.

Yoru and her friends stood in front of the North Gate together with a group of villagers, they looked at the battlefield in front of them. Yoru crouched to inspect a fallen gunner who was pierced by the beast´s spike, in fact there were five hunters disposed in a straight line. ``He is dead.´´ the huntress checked the neck, ``They too.´´ Derek and Elvis confirmed seconds later. ``But I don´t understand. Their armors are way sturdier than mine and they are dead. They should survive the attack.´´ Yoru frowned.

``They didn´t receive emergency treatment like you did.´´ Derek answered, minutes ago Yoru had talked about the fact that the monster had killed her parents and also tried to kill her. Derek already had his suspicions when he saw the monster firing spikes from its wings.

``Actually, two of them died instantly, their hearts were completely pierced. The rest died a minute or two later.´´ Elvis stated checking the wounds. ``How do you know this?´´ Yoru asked, ``Because I tried to heal them as Derek and the others fought.´´ the medic hunter answered. ``Now I am impressed, how the hell did YOU survive?´´ Elvis asked pointing to the huntress. ``I am asking myself the same thing.´´ Yoru admitted.

**(Tavern)**

Everyone was talking but the content was different than the normal and no one dared to laugh. The lower ranked hunters were talking about the destruction of the village or dead friends. The dead hunters were receiving their funerals by this moment but capable hunters were ordered by Shen to be ready for another attack, so they couldn´t attend the ritual. Yoru sat at one of the tables with her friends, they had ordered their meals minutes ago and so had a lot of time to talk.

``By the way, how did you stop the Rathian?´´ Elvis asked, ``I didn´t, she just threw some spikes and then fled. It is like she didn´t want to attack the villagers.´´ Yoru said. ``I thought it would try to eat them or eliminate the "intruders", it wouldn´t make sense to just destroy the village and flee.´´ Elvis spoke. ``She ignored our attempts of distraction, it was focused on the village.´´ Derek said, ``Wait! She? Are you implying that this Rathian is aware of what it is doing?´´ Elvis asked.

``This Black Rathian adapted to our strategies. When we used the bowguns she started to dodge and then throw spikes at the gunners. When we attacked together she jumped and fired a fireball at each one of us. Yes, I believe she is aware of what she is doing.´´ Derek admitted. ``But Rathians only worry about their territory and their nests.´´ Elvis argued, ``Does that look like a common Rathian for you?!´´ Yoru punched the table.

``You saw with your own eyes, didn´t you?! That is not a painted Rathian!´´ Yoru screamed at Elvis´s face. Derek pulled the huntress back to the bench. ``You´re making too much noise, calm down.´´ the azure hunter said. Yoru shook her head, ``The enemy is the Rathian, not your friends…´´ the huntress mumbled to herself with closed eyes. ``Tomorrow I will hunt the Rathian.´´ Yoru casually took a sip from her drink, Derek and Elvis spitted their food.

``You are kidding right?!´´ Elvis shouted, ``You are planning to fight the Rathian?! Ouch!´´ Derek hug his belly. ``Yeah, that´s why I was training during these last months.´´ the huntress explained. ``I don´t want to sound rude, but you can´t take that thing alone, we could only contain it for a short time. When it gets enraged it is unstoppable.´´ Elvis said. ``Just like you.´´ Derek smiled, he had to move his head to the side to avoid a punch from the huntress. ``Just joking.´´ the azure hunter said.

``Don´t compare me with that assassin.´´ Yoru glared, ``You are justifying what I said.´´ Derek caught an incoming fist of the huntress. ``Sorry.´´ the huntress lowered her arm, ``What is more important? Your revenge or your village and friends?´´ Derek asked. ``I´m doing this for my family AND the village. I won´t let this Rathian kill any more people!´´ Yoru tightened her grip over a wooden cup, the material cracked but the iron rings kept it in place. ``You can´t take it alone, I´m coming with you.´´ Derek said, ``What? You can´t be serious! You barely escaped death today, you two can´t beat that thing down. We have to rebuild the village first and we will need all capable hunters to protect it.´´ Elvis said. A faint roar echoed through the tavern.

``It returned!´´ a hunter kicked the tavern´s door open, ``What?!´´ Yoru rushed to the exit, all the hunters followed behind. The Black Rathian was flying in the sky, flapping its wings to stay in the same place. ``You coward! Get over here so I can smack your bones!´´ Yoru defied the creature with her sword drawn. The Rathian roared, it dived at the huntress and grabbed the woman with its claws before flying away. ``Yoru!´´ Derek extended his arm but the monster was too far away out of reach of any projectile they had. ``YOU BASTARD! LET ME DOWN!´´ the huntress shouted trying to free herself, it was a long fall to the top of the trees.

Yoru squirmed and cursed as the beast entered deeper into the jungle and after a few minutes the huntress spotted a large clearing. The Rathian dived and when it was about to hit the ground opened its claws, allowing the huntress to fall into the ground. Yoru rolled to minimize the damage and then stood up with the longsword ready. The Black Rathian landed at the other side of the clearing and turned to face the huntress.

``Now you want to face me, don´t you?! I won´t let you escape this time!´´ Yoru shouted at the monster, the beast was slowly walking to the side in a circling trajectory as if to analyze the huntress. ``You will pay for your what you done!´´ the huntress charged at the monster.


	22. Regrets and promisses

A blue fireball erupted from the forest and ascended towards the dark sky of the night. Yoru gasped for air as she kept her sword raised on top of her head, the Rathian slowly moved its head down after receiving a powerful blow from the heavy longsword. The huntress´s eyes widened, her opponent wasn´t even stunned by the attack.

"Why?! Why you had to kill my family?!" the huntress changed her grip and then made a downward slash. The blunt weapon hit the head plate with such force that all her muscles vibrated with the impact.

The Rathian didn´t move an inch, it simply stared at the huntress with its small red eyes. It looked pretty calm despite the last attack on Kokoto. The monster roared, forcing the huntress to drop her weapon to cover her ears. Yoru kneeled on the ground, at that distance the sound wave was so strong she could actually feel her eardrums ringing. The black beast slammed its wings on the ground, the huntress lost her balance and fell on her butt. The monster made a quick turn to face the opposite side and then raised its tail.

"This move…!" Yoru rolled to the side as the tail struck the ground.

The woman stood up with her longsword held in both hands. Even after her rigorous training it was hard to keep using the weapon in combat for extended periods. If she was lucky the monster was still exhausted from the previous encounter with Derek and his 29 hunters.

"_She emitted the corrosive gas when we tried to hit the underbelly" _Derek´s words echoed through the huntress´s mind.

Yoru sidestepped a fireball and was almost hit by a second fireball, the flames frizzed the exterior layer of the scales but the main structure was still intact. When she looked at the monster another fireball was coming so she dropped her longsword and jumped out of the way. The red haired woman looked at the monster, she swore the Rathian had moved its head up and down. Before she could think of anything else the beast roared again.

Yoru agonized, she was still recovering from the first roar. She cursed as her ears ringed, it felt like she could die if the monster did this several times straight. When the huntress raised her head she saw a furious Rathian running at her direction, with her left hand still on her ear she stood up and grabbed one of her twin swords with the other hand. The monster was nearly upon her so she jumped to the side and prepared to stab the monster´s side as it passed.

However the Rathian stopped mid track and did a hip check. The huntress was launched far away, rolling several times until she finally stopped. The monster groaned, the sharp blade had plunged its side leaving the sword stuck. The black creature turned its head at the huntress, she was still on the ground.

Yoru shook her head, her chest hurt and her vision was blurry. "This is harder than I thought…" the huntress mumbled trying to stand up. Her legs faltered and she fell to her knees. "Dam it!" she cursed as she looked around, the monster was nowhere to be seem.

A blue light shined in the sky, prompting the huntress to look up. The monster was flapping its wings to keep flying in the same place as flames covered its mouth. The huntress tried to stand up but failed, she had to get out of there or she would be crisped. The Rathian made a painful roar and then fell from the sky. It hit the ground like a meteor, creating a crater and launching stones around. Yoru widened her eyes when a flying object came into her direction, she tried to move but her entire chest hurt when she tried to do it. The object crashed into the ground at the huntress´s side, bouncing twice until it finally stopped.

"My longsword!´´ Yoru exclaimed, she clutched her hand around the hilt. "_I need to fight back, I can´t give up now." _the huntress stood up with the sword in hand, she took deep breaths the fastest she could.

The Rathian jumped out of the crater with blood dripping from the wound. It snarled and growled at the huntress for doing such troublesome wound.

Yoru gulped, not because she was fearful of the creature but because she knew the monster wasn´t even using its full power. Derek told her that the Black Rathian roared three times during the massacre which occurred hours ago and he was not even sure if the beast had more potential than what they saw. If her friend was right she had to expect a long and arduous battle.

"I must NOT give up!" the huntress claimed as she entered the greatsword position.

The monster charged and this time faster than the last. It was too fast for a heavenly impact or even a focused attack of any kind, the huntress´s only option was to roll out of the way. The creature clashed into a tree, breaking it in half before hitting a second one which resisted the impact.

Yoru jumped with her longsword over her head, she stroke the beast´s tail but the lack of sharpness made the weapon bounce off, destabilizing the huntress. She regained her ground in a matter of seconds and then made an upward slash but the weapon bounced off again.

"_This is not working…" _the huntress thought backing away to avoid a tail whip from the monster. "_She must learned that from a Diabos…"_ she thought as the monster quick turned.

The Black Rathian took a step forward and then moved its head in an arch to bite the huntress but the woman hopped back and went for a downward slash. Surprisingly the beast stepped back, just in time to avoid the heavy blade. The monster jumped forcing its massive body into a circling motion. The red haired huntress raised the sword as quick as possible, she grabbed the other side of the blade with her left hand and held it firmly as the monster´s tail struck from underneath.

The huntress was launched into the air and then fell on the ground, her sword on top of her body. The fall itself didn´t hurt that much but the weight of the weapon was another case.

**(Some time later)**

Morning had arrived but the Sun was still behind giant white clouds. Yoru retreated as she dodged the monster´s bites. From time to time she managed to hit the creature´s head but it was clear that she was losing ground and doing little damage. They were already inside the forest but fortunately it was a more open area and not a tight space.

Behind the Black Rathian only destroyed trees remained, some of which were burning. The "fighters" continued to exchange attacks as the proceeded to the West. Yoru had lost part of her shoulder pads and her helm when the wyvern managed to burn them but in exchange the monster had many scars on the face and the wound on the side was still bleeding but somehow the beast was still fighting with vigor, it was like it didn´t even care or was just ignoring the pain.

Yoru sidestepped a bite from the monster and then jumped back to win space. The huntress felt a cold sensation on her legs, when she looked down she noticed she was standing on the border of a lake. She looked back and immediately recognized where she was, how could she forget this place?

The Rathian stepped forward and then bit the huntress in the chest, Yoru screamed when the monster´s mouth was engulfed in an explosion of flames. The black beast launched the body of the woman at the lake, sending the huntress to what would become her grave.

Yoru slowly descended to the bottom of the lake, she desperately tried to swim back to the surface but the sword was pulling her down. "_I won´t leave the sword! I won´t!" _the huntress thought while waving her free arm in a vain attempt to reach the surface.

**(Flashback)**

"_Why you continue to use this sword?" a hunter asked._

"_Because it is a special sword." Yoru shrugged._

"_I don´t understand. It is as heavy as rock, as dull as a training sword and doesn´t has any element imbued. How is it special?" the hunter argued._

"_First: I made a promise to master this sword in honor to the last user. _

_Second: Any average hunter can kill a…I don´t know, a wyvern with fancy equips and weapons but can YOU kill one with this sword, without sharpness, elements and weighing a ton? That´s why I keep using this longsword, if I can kill monsters with it then I am more capable than other hunters who kill the same monster with better equipments. _

_Third: This way I can prove that a good hunter is not defined by what she/he has but what she/he can do with what it is available at the moment and that I don´t need fancy crap like Sapphire." The huntress answered._

**(End of Flashback)**

Something moved through the water, yellow eyes observed the huntress as she sunk into the bottom of the lake.

**(Flashback)**

"_Dad! I was going to use it as bait!" Yoru whined._

_The teen´s father shook his head. "You can´t use frogs as bait! It will attract...!" _

_A gigantic form erupted from the lake´s surface, casting its shadow over the small boat._

**(End of Flashback)**

Yoru looked around, something had passed just by her side creating a wave of sorts. She looked around and saw a giant form swimming away. The "thing" approached again and this time it swan faster than before. When it got closer Yoru almost lost her breath when she recognized the creature.

"_Plesioth!"_ the huntress thought as the monster approached with the mouth wide open.

Yoru swan to the right but the monster´s side fins hit her in the chest making her spin. The huntress held her belly, there were many dents on the chest plate and much of it was charred. The armor was weak against fire but fortunately the water had extinguished the flames before they could burn her flesh. But the material was falling apart and a small trail of blood was coming from her belly. Yoru looked forward and saw the water wyvern approaching again.

"_I can´t go to the surface with all this weight but what if…" _the huntress thought as the monster got closer. When it got close enough Yoru swan to the side and then grabbed the dorsal fin of the wyvern. The creature was no fool and so started to swim around, up and down and then to the sides. Yoru was almost giving up when she felt a sequence of vibrations coming from the surface. The Plesioth squirmed, it was clear that the vibrations were harmful to the beast. More vibrations came and this time the water wyvern couldn´t bear anymore. The Plesioth swam towards the surface of the lake. **SPLASH!**

"Oh crap!" Yoru cursed, the wyvern was going to crash on the land.

The Plesioth fell on his side making the huntress hit her head on the ground. The wyvern moved its massive body to the sides in an attempt to stay on top of its belly but it missed. Yoru took deep breaths as she crawled away from the wyvern, the Plesioth was a brutal monster even on solid ground. She didn´t want to be close when it stands up, she still had a…

The Black Rathian jumped on top of the water wyverm digging its sharp claws in the monster´s side. The flying wyvern raised its head and then breathed a fire beam at the Plesioth´s side, killing the monster before it could do anything. The Rathian looked at the huntress, blue and red flames were coming from its mouth.

"_One problem solved." _The huntress thought standing up. Blood and water dripped from her broken armor, "_Ugh…I feel weak…No! I can´t give up! It is just a scratch, I survived wounds worse than this." _Yoru thought closing her good eye, leaving her blind for the moment.

The Rathian jumped from the Plesioth´s corpse and took flight, Yoru heard the wind caused by the monster and instinctively raised her sword but the wyvern wasn´t coming after her. The black creature was flying over the middle of the lake, out of the reach of the huntress.

"You coward!" Yoru protested going to the border of the lake.

The monster answered by firing a fireball at the huntress but Yoru jumped out of the way.

**(Kokoto)**

Derek smashed a loprey with his greatsword. "There is no end to this!" the hunter exclaimed as he blocked a claw from behind. He spun and did a horizontal slash, sending the monster flying. Derek was using his red armor since the other was too much corroded to be effective in combat.

"There are more coming!" a hunter shouted pointing to the other side of the street.

"This is bad…Yoru, hang in there I will come as soon as I can." Derek muttered as he prepared for the incoming preys.

Someone blew a horn once during a few seconds.

"More?!" a hunter asked in disbelief.

"In the sky!" a villager shouted, prompting everyone to look upwards. There were three Yian Garuga flying around the village.

"This is not right, they usually only hunt during the night." Derek said gazing at the ferocious bird wyverns. "_Something attracted them to the village… but what? Maybe exposed food? Food, meat…oh No!" _Derek looked around the street and grabbed a fellow hunter by the shoulders. "Did they bury all the dead hunters yesterday?!" he asked.

"We have other things to worry about now dude!" the hunter answered.

"You don´t understand?! The smell of rotting corpses might be attracting these monsters!" Derek explained letting the hunter go.

A Yian Garuga landed on the street prompting a group of low ranked hunters to step forward. Unfortunately only a few of the high rank hunters returned from their jobs and there was no signal of help from Jumbo, it would take at least two more days to receive reinforcements from the other village. At the moment Kokoto had 8 very experienced hunters, a good deal of guards and low rank hunters but the less experienced men were busy dealing with the loprey and now there were 3 Yian Garuga to deal with. Some "human hunters" also known as "Retrievers" were protecting Shen and Gray while the rest of the guild was ordered to protect all the villagers they could.

"_I need to find out or the village is doomed." _Derek thought as he ran away from the fight.

**(Lake)**

Yoru gazed at the flying wyvern with disgust, "You bastard! Keep firing from that spot where I can´t reach you! Darn you!" the huntress cursed dodging more fireballs.

The huntress grabbed a rock from the ground and threw at the monster in frustration. She had no options, her equipment was too heavy to float on the lake and she had no ranged weapons or projectiles to use.

"_If you need something but can´t buy it, create it yourself with the things around you." _Haikan once said.

Yoru grabbed another rock but instead of throwing it she searched her surroundings for a specific plant. She spotted a small plant covered in a grey viscous liquid on the base of a nearby tree. The huntress quickly dashed towards the tree and cut the plant with a single slash of her hunting knife. She hid behind the tree just as a fireball collided with the wood

"Sap plant and rock…How do I get a flashbug? I can´t just grab it with my hands." Yoru said spying from her hiding spot, another fireball hit the tree. The wood cracked as the flames slowly crawled around the tree. "Web, web, when there is a spider when you need it?" the huntress asked looking around but didn´t find any. Another fireball hit the tree, creating a huge explosion that sent shards of wood around the area. Yoru ran to another tree as her last hiding spot fell to the ground. "Web, I need web and two sticks." Yoru looked around, no signal of the materials.

A flashbug passed right in front of the huntress´s eyes, she tried to grab it but accidentally extended her arm out of the cover of the tree. Yoru grabbed the bug just as a spike passed flying by her side, missing the fingers just because the huntress closed her hand.

Yoru looked at the spike craved on the ground and quickly hid her arm behind the tree again, she sighed relieved. The huntress sat on the ground and put the rock on her lap, she carefully applied the viscous liquid of the sap plant on the bug and then glued it into the rock.

"Let´s see if you can swim, bastard." Yoru spied from her hiding spot, the Rathian was looking upwards with the mouth glowing with blue fire. "Sh**!" Yoru ducked just as a beam of fire destroyed the tree and burned the ground. "Hot!Hot! Hot!" the huntress said as the hot flame frizzed her back.

Yoru rolled on the ground trying to extinguish the flames on her back before they could melt her armor. The Rathian simply watched the huntress do her best to save her "hide", a bit of fire came out from its nose. Yoru sighed when she managed to put out the fire, she was lying on her belly with most of the armor charred.

"Of all the armors I had to use…why the one weak to fire?!" the huntress hit her head on the ground, her longsword at her side. Yoru stood up and casually stretched her back but her senses were focused on the Black Rathian and her muscles were tensed like the string of a bow. With a quick move she spun and threw the improvised flash bomb at the lake and used her free hand to grab the remaining sword from her back.

A white explosion engulfed the area, blinding the monster. The Black Rathian roared in agony as a sword pierced its underbelly, unable to keep flying the beast fell in the lake creating a big circular wave.

Yoru grabbed her longword from the ground and watched the lake´s surface. "I know you are still there!" the huntress shouted, small bubbles formed on the water. The red haired huntress narrowed her eyes as more and more bubbles formed on the water. Soon the entire lake bubbled and it felt like it was getting hotter by the second. Dead fishes appeared on the surface as the water started to diminish and dry until the back of the monster appeared. Yoru bit her lips as the Rathian´s face appeared, it was creating a continuous stream of fire to dry all the water until nothing but dead fishes and dead plants remained.

"The lake…you…you…that was my favorite lake! Now you are running even my memories?!" Yoru held the longsword with such strength that her nails almost pierced her own hands.

The black wyvern jumped into the air and landed at the huntress´s side. Yoru stepped forward to attack but then the pain in her belly increased, forcing her to grab it with her hand. Yoru looked at the monster as she gritted her teeth, she noticed the monster´s side and underbelly was bleeding but the creature was showing no signs of fatigue.

"Screw this! These wounds aren´t even close to the ones you already caused!" Yoru made a diagonal slash followed by the exact move coming from the opposite side, then she made a vertical slash, a stab, an upward slash and then a left and right combo, finishing with a downward attack.

Yoru breathed heavily as she watched the monster on the ground. "Why me?! Why my family?! My friends?! My home?! MY LIFE?!" Yoru shouted at the monster, sweat covered her face, all those moves coupled with her ire and injuries were making her feel very hot.

The Black Rathian barely opened its eyes and without the huntress noticing it the beast stared at her, black smoke came from its nose in a quick stream and in seconds the monster was standing again.

Yoru raised her sword and then hit the ground with a powerful blow. "I won´t let their deaths be in vain!" the huntress shouted. The monster raised its head to the sky and roared at the top of its lungs, forcing the huntress to cover her ears.

The Rathian jumped back to get some distance, red trails emanated from its eyes and blue and red flames came from its mouth. The "demon" had reached its fourth stage of rage.

"I will hunt you down to the bowels of Earth!" Yoru ran after the monster.

"_So be it…"_


	23. Inner Beast

**(?)**

Drops of water fell from the sky as the rain raged on. The rocky ground was filled with puddles, mushrooms of various sorts and only a handful of trees. Some drops of water, however, were filled with blood and others contained far more minerals than they should. For on this very swamp two rivals fought with all they had, be it claw, blades or teeth. It was a contest of willpower and the loser had to pay with its own life.

Despite all her hatred Yoru was losing in practically every aspect of the battle, she couldn´t hit the monster and she had lost count on how many times she was hit by the massive spiky tail or was launched to the ground by the monster´s charge.

"Why can´t I hit you?!" the huntress cursed raising from the ground once more, she didn´t feel terribly tired but the frustration was building up and taking away her focus.

The Black Rathian moved its head backwards as if to stand up and launch fireballs but it didn´t do so. Yoru could see the two blades stuck in the monster´s flesh, one in the belly and other in the side. It looked like they were deeply stuck in the creature´s flesh and without doubt they had caused severe internal damage for blood was still dropping from the wounds. The monster lowered its head and returned to its normal hunting position again.

"You*gasp*…you are not me!" Yoru shouted at the wyvern. "You are just a kohuro! A kohuro!" she claimed trying to hold her own weight.

The beast snarled and smoke came from the nostrils. It started to walk to the sides as if analyzing the huntress. The Black Rathian roared at the woman with all its strength, Yoru actually felt the gust of wind and was easily sent to the ground. With a long jump the beast landed on top of the huntress, fire burning inside the mouth.

Yoru stared at the flames with widened eyes, for the first time during the fight she felt like she could actually die. Fear overrun her mind as the flames turned blue and started to overflow through the creature´s mouth.

"_Think of what would happen if you die." _a hunter once warned before she was sequestrated by the Rathian.

The flames of the monster became orange again and the heat diminished as if it was actually normal. A vision of a star filled sky occupied the scene, the constellations felt so close and easy to touch. Yoru felt tempted to touch the stars but then white lines emerged from the stars and connected with other stars to make a drawing. Soon the limes formed the image of her deceased parents, they were looking at her with saddened expressions.

The lines turned blue and the sky seemed to become more clear by the second. Soon everything was dancing as if the sky had…burned!

"No!" Yoru shouted trying to raise her sword. When she realized she couldn´t she used her free hand to punch the monster´s still flaming jaw.

The Black Rathian moved its head to the side, the rain was getting stronger and the wind was blowing up leaves off the trees.

"I am not done yet!" the huntress shouted trying to crawl from underneath the monster but the creature jumped into the air and flapped its wings several times, creating waves of wind that paralyzed the huntress. "Don´t go away! Bastard! Coward! Maouji! Nira!" she cursed, not even realizing she was started to talk in the old language.

The Black Rathian landed on top of a nearby hill and turned away from the huntress. The woman ran after the beast but soon she noticed the hill was too steep and high to climb so she gave a few steps back and shouted at the monster which was still standing in the same place. The Rathian slowly turned to face the huntress, the glow in the eyes had dwindled but the fire in the mouth seemed to burn with more intensity.

**(Kokoto)**

Fortunately Derek found the source of the problem but unfortunately it would take a long time to fix it. Three of the major food deposits were destroyed and part of the food was burned or spread across the ground. Weirdly none of the nearby buildings were damaged or destroyed.

"She aimed at the village´s core, clever creature." Derek said killing some loprey that were gnawing at burnt pieces of meat. "But how did she know where our food supplies were stored?" he blocked a claw with his greatsword and then moved to the side to avoid a bite from the left.

After everything he saw Derek knew the Rathian was a smart wyvern, probably because she lived a long time and faced many hunters before but he never thought she would be THIS smart. Dodging arrows and avoiding distractions was one thing, but to destroy the main supply of the village and attract a large array of monsters was something completely different! The deposits were placed far away from the site of the battle so the monster´s beams couldn´t have reached those areas, also it would have left a line of destruction which was absent in this case. The only possible explanation was that she destroyed the buildings on her way back to the forest when she was launching fireballs at the village.

"…and she captured Yoru…?" he asked.

A Yian Garuga jumped over a house and spitted fire around the area.

"Kokoto will hardly recover from this…but we need to keep the people safe." Derek said looking at the bird wyvern. "You were right Yoru…we should have reinforced our barriers." He said as he fought the purple wyvern.

"If we helped her gather the necessary money…we could have avoided this. Now it is too late to grieve." The hunter thought as he did an upward slash straight into the creature´s chest. The monster cried in pain and limped back only to fall to the ground seconds later.

**(Old Swamp)**

"AHHHH!" Yoru screamed as she ran after the Rathian only to receive a tail sweep and fall to the ground. This time the blow hurt a lot and she remained on the ground with the face buried on the surface. "Why?! Why can´t I land a single attack?!" she screamed trying to get up.

The Black Rathian jumped forward and spun its body in a circular motion. The tail hit the huntress like a massive club, cracking the earth below. The monster jumped back and did the same move again and a third time.

"_**Pathetic!"**_

"_**Weak!"**_

"_**Idiot!"**_

Yoru gritted her teeth, the pain on her back was unbearable. Consciousness was escaping and darkness was knocking the door, everything felt distant and the rain could be heard no more. For some reason the ground felt way smooth to be rock and dry to be raining. Peace, however, was something foreign to the huntress and soon two giant red eyes appeared amidst the darkness, prompting the woman to open her eyes.

The rain had returned and the ground became hard once again. The pain returned, not only the physical one but the emotional one too. She saw visions of a burning house, red eyes staring from the darkness and an injured felyne with burnt fur. Those were things she wanted to forget but also memories she HAD to keep. They were memories of loved ones, people the beast had hurt and killed!

And so the huntress put pressure on her arms and forced her body to move. She took deep breaths as she kneeled and used her hand to support the weight of her torso, her back hurt and she didn´t know if any bones had broken but she didn´t care at the moment.

"Watashi wira wo shu!" she shouted running after the monster with the sword held in both hands.

The Black Rathian snarled but remained in the same place. When the huntress swung her sword with surprising speed the beast jumped back and flapped its wings to gain height. Yoru was about to protest the monster´s cowardice when it came down like a shooting star. The ground below crackled, forming a circular slit around the wyvern. The beast closed its claws around the rock and then jumped upwards while turning the body backwards. Yoru screamed as a portion of the ground was easily lifted into the air like a feather.

She saw the monster landing on the ground staring at her with those red eyes of hatred, what she didn´t noticed was that her eyes weren´t so different from those of the monster. The Rathian used its powerful legs to propel itself like a bullet and like one it crashed at the rock where Yoru was standing.

"**Kana!"**

The portion of rock was destroyed in several smaller pieces. Yoru was hit by the gigantic body of the monster and immediately lost consciousness. The wyvern grabbed her falling body with its claws and flew towards West.

**Obs:Sorry for the somewhat short chapter but I have to divide it for some reasons. As compensation I am going to write the next one instead of writing a chapter for another story.**

**What Yoru is talking in the Old Language will be revealed later, **


	24. Inner humanity

**(Kokoto)**

Derek used his greatsword as support to stay on his feet, several loprey and velociprey were scattered across the ground.

"Is *gasp*…everyone okay?!" he asked sweating like a congala in a volcano.

The battle was long and fierce with many casualties but now the only sound that echoed across the streets were the cold wind of the night. Only after the death of the three Yian Garuga that the monster seemed to stop coming. Derek was exhausted but his armors hadn´t any signs of dents or cuts.

"I guess we will have a lot of loprey armor to sell when everything ends." the hunter said dragging his sword as he searched for survivors. Kai came into view with a group of hunters behind him.

"There!" Kai pointed at Derek which was almost falling from exhaustion. He caught the red armored hunter when he tripped.

"Where are the villagers?" Derek asked almost in a whisper.

"They´re fine, well…most of them. Those cats managed to hold pretty well considering their size but some were poisoned. The chief is safe too." Kai told giving a green potion to the tired hunter which he accepted. "Hey, do you know what caused the attack?" the "retriever" asked.

"Yes…the food deposits were destroyed and *gasp* the meat was burned, creating a *gasp* smell that lingered and spread." Derek sat on the ground and took off his helm.

"Hey! Look at this! There is loprey carcass everywhere!" a hunter pointed to the area behind Derek.

"Tell me something *gasp*. Why no one came to help me? I saw only a handful of hunters and that was hours ago." Derek spit on the ground.

"We were giving priority to the villagers and the defense of the borders. But there weren´t enough people. Probably because of the Rathian´s attack…Man! I never saw a raid like this in all my life! They should have been starving to be so persistent." Kai said giving a bottle of water to Derek.

Derek returned the bottle, "We need to store the remaining food in another place or more monsters will be attracted by the smell. Today was mostly loprey but velociprey might attack tomorrow." He said getting up.

"Less food, destroyed buildings, dead people, insufficient number of hunters and Jumbo´s reinforcements will take at least 3 or 4 more days to arrive, depending if a monster attack them or not. Can this get any worse?" Kai asked.

Derek took a deep breath. "Yes, it can. If Yoru dies we will be facing an injured but very angry Black Rathian and we don´t have the strength to fight it." The red armored hunter looked at the sky.

"Do you believe she is still alive?" Kai asked.

"She survived many deadly injuries and encounters before. Ha! I think the only thing capable of killing her is her own lack of focus and imprudence." the hunter smiled.

**(?) **

Yoru felt a warm sensation around her body.

"_Is this how death feels like?" _she thought with eyes closed. "_Weird…I always thought_ I _would feel a cold sensation. If I am dead, this means…" _the huntress slowly opened her eyes

Yoru saw a dark sky with a handful of stars but there weren´t any constellations resembling her parents, there was, however, small blue flames dancing around the corners of her eyes. She immediately raised her head and looked around, there were blue flames everywhere! There was only sufficient space for her to remain on the ground and she couldn´t even stretch her arms or she would burn herself.

A dark shadow passed through the sky and then landed in front of the huntress. An ear splitting roar filled the air prompting the huntress to jump to her feet which almost caused her to jump directly into the flames.

"You..!" the huntress tried to step forward but stopped when the flames barely licked her fingers. "Urgh!" she mumbled in frustration, the Rathian was standing only a few meters away but the fire was too large to simply run straight through without getting burned.

The Black Rathian took a step closer, it looked like its eyes weren´t glowing anymore and there wasn´t fire coming from the mouth. Black smoke came from its nostrils.

"Always doing sneaky attacks when I can´t do anything else to stop it! You are just an assassin! A kohuro! You only live to kill!" the huntress screamed.

The Black Rathian responded by firing a stream of fire at the huntress. Yoru didn´t blink nor move but the fire didn´t even touch her skin. The monster was walking around the circle of fire spewing fire at the ground around. After almost a minute of walking the wyvern finally completed a full turn and consequently a new circle of fire around the angry huntress.

"You bastard! Why don´t you kill me already?! At least let me live with my parents in the afterlife!" Yoru protested.

The monster answered by creating another circle of fire, much to the huntress irritation.

"Why don´t you fire at me?! Why you keep coming back to fight me?! Why?!" she shouted.

The Rathian created one more circle of fire, the woman clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. The beast was almost invisible behind the various walls of fire, the huntress could see only the wings of her enemy.

"You cannot keep me here forever! You will die from blood loss before I die of starvation!" Yoru threatened.

The monster breathed a puff of smoke from its mouth, carefully and hesitantly the wyvern walked through its own flames. The beast grunted in pain as the hot flames licked the wounds, it hurt like hell but the heat was etching the wounds preventing any more blood loss. After a minute or two of grunting the Rathian finally looked at the huntress with those red eyes the woman knew very well.

"You…!" was all that she could say, was this monster aware of what it was doing?

As if to answer the huntress the wyvern closed one of its own eyes and then moved its head backwards in order to achieve a standing position. The wounds, now partially healed, were visible to the huntress once again.

"Why do you keep doing this?! You are NOT like me!" Yoru argued.

Blue flames sprouted from the monster´s mouth in the form of a beam of fire. The ray of death scorched the ground and went towards the sky. The scorched sand became glass which shinned like the purest and most refined crystal. Yoru looked at the trail of glass at her side and then the rest of the area where the circles of fire were still burning, the sands underneath the circles weren´t turning into glass.

For the first time during the last day the huntress observed instead of fighting. What else could she do? There was no place to go or anything to mix, make or throw. She was completely exposed to the creature´s mercy.

The monster approached, carefully and slowly as if expecting the huntress to jump in a last suicidal attack. The Rathian´s head got dangerously close to the huntress but it was still behind the first wall of flames so Yoru couldn´t touch the creature and there wasn´t enough space to move her blade without stepping into the fire.

"Get any closer and I will kill you! Even if I die trying!" Yoru threatened as she moved her hand to get her sword only to find the sword wasn´t with her. "DAM IT!" the huntress cursed.

The Black Rathian took a step back, turned and walked away from the inner circle of fire. Yoru cursed at the top of her lungs and even threw some sand at the monster but there wasn´t any result, the wyvern simply decided to leave her alone.

Yoru took deep breaths, all the cursing coupled with the injuries was exhausting her energies. After the wyvern disappeared behind the last wall of fire the huntress gave up all hope of getting the monster´s attention, she was trapped. Without any option left she sat on the sand, only to finally notice something peculiar.

"I am in a desert?!" Yoru said looking at the ground and sky since the sides were covered by flames.

The huntress knew by experience that a desert was extremely hot during day and VERY cold during night, to the point of the necessity of a hot potion or a good bonfire.

"A bonfire…" Yoru murmured looking at the flames, a thought crossed her mind. "These flames are keeping me alive…" she said. "If the flames vanish I will die from the coldness…!" her eyes widened. "Does she want me alive? She could´ve killed me when she destroyed the rock but why? Why? Why me?!" the huntress stood up and shouted.

Surprisingly the monster came back, however it came back limping. The beast stopped at the same place as before. It raised its head back and stood up like before but something was different. There was a glowing red spot in the middle of the belly as if the light was coming from inside, various small tendril-like protuberances surrounded the spot as if they were roots of a tree.

Yoru´s mouth fell in disbelief. "A heart…" she said moving her hand to her own chest.

"_What is more important? Your revenge or your village and friends?" _Derek asked before her kidnap.

"You have a reason, don´t you?" Yoru asked.

The Rathian crouched again and groaned.

"That involves me." the huntress asked.

The monster groaned again.

"Then WHY YOU HAD TO DESTROY EVERYTHING I HAD?!" the huntress shouted in an outburst of rage.

The Rathian turned and walked away, it seemed like every step was a huge burden to the monster. It returned moments later with a very familiar object in its mouth.

"My sword!" Yoru tried to grab the object but the flames stopped her hand.

The Rathian groaned something and then opened its mouth, the blade fell between the first and the second wall of fire. The monster took a few steps back without taking the eyes off the huntress. Yoru looked at the sword and then at the monster.

"You know I am going to kill you, no matter what?" The huntress said sincerely.

The monster flapped its wings on the ground, creating a wind gust that blew away one of the walls of fire.

"So you are finally paying for your crimes, aren´t you?" Yoru asked.

The Rathian flapped its wings a second time, only two more circles remained.

"You are fighting to stand on your feet and yet want a battle with me?" a small smile formed on Yoru´s lips. "I must admit, you are perseverant.".

There was only one circle remaining.

"However… I will make this very clear . Whatever goal you had for me, I won´t do it. You can´t simply kill my parents, destroy my village and expect some kind of favor in return." she glared as the monster raised its wings.

The monster kept the wings upwards as if it was about to flap but decided to wait for the moment. The wind of the desert whispered impatiently as if awaiting the imminent duel that would soon follow.

"_The last circle of fire…After this I will have no source of heat. This will be my last stand. My last…battle." _Yoru thought. "My la-asthunt. Yes, this is it…then everything will end. I will have my revenge…then…"

Memories of Derek flashed through the huntress´ mind, precious moments they passed together with Rick and Elvis during the past months.Ever since Yoru was promoted to 4 stars(because of the Unknown incident) they had done many hunts together with surprisingly efficiency. One could say they were like opposites, one calm and rational and the other easy to anger and prone to fights. But the truth was that Yoru was almost as rational as Derek during the few hours she was calm and sometimes even more resourceful than the Rathalos hunter. Of course there were many moments where Yoru threw her anger on the monsters and all the well made plans were thrown into the garbage but the hunter learned to ignore this and they still continued to take jobs together.

The huntress felt her heart sink, how could she say she wanted to die and be with her parents when Derek was still alive and well? She had lost her family because of this mysterious monster but the wyvern hunter was at her side to give support when she most needed. He led a search party when she fled from the village, saved her life so many times before and even helped her to control her anger issues. Now she understood why and how he managed to always cool her nerves.

Yoru opened her eyes, "No, I won´t die here. There is people awaiting for me back in my…home." She said with a hint of a smile in her face. "But now I need to kill my avatar, the personification of everything wrong with me. You hear me?! Tonight you will bind me no more! I will move on with my life!" Yoru shouted and then looked at the stars. "Father, Mother! We will be together one way or another so please be patient! I still have a life to live!" the woman took a deep breath.

The Rathian flapped its wings down for the fourth time, the wind gust was so strong that Yoru had to cover her eyes with her hands. When she looked again the wyvern had changed and not exactly for the better. There were dark blue marks around the eyes as if a giant claw had scratched them, the wings´ spikes and the claws were glowing. The glowing spots highlighted the creature´s overall form, which helped a lot since a group of clouds had just covered the Moon.

Yoru walked towards her sword and grabbed it with both hands, she held it vertically at her side. "It is now or never!" the huntress shouted, both combatants ran after each other screaming powerful war cries.

**(Kokoto)**

Derek frowned, the sky suddenly became slightly darker for no reason. Even the Moon´s light was a bit paler than it should be. The hunter looked around, there were two guards at his side and they too had noticed the sudden change of atmosphere.

"What is happening to the sky?" one guard asked.

Derek looked at the other side of the training ground but there was nothing different much to his relief. The most experienced hunters were tasked with the protection of important points of the village and they were accompanied by a set of guards to confront any possible thugs or bandits. Derek had asked only for two, he knew the village was running short on soldiers and men.

"Whatever it is, it must be the Gods or a dragon." Derek said biting his lips.

"A dragon?! But we are no match for this kind of threat!" the second guard said.

Derek waved his hand as if dismissing the guard´s worry. "Don´t panic, this is the last thing we need right now. However, I have a feeling this is not a natural phenomenon." the red hunter looked at the Moon.

'S-so you think it is really a dragon?" the first guard asked.

"A dragon or something with the power to rival those creatures." Derek looked back at the guards before turning his attention to the sky. "_I hope you are safe Yoru, I know you understand why I am still here and not going after you. But hold on, I will come after you as soon as possible." _The hunter thought.

Meanwhile Shen and Gray were watching the sky with a couple of guards behind them.

Shen rubbed his beard, "This is unusual. The sky was clear just moments ago…" the elder wyverian commented.

"Meow! This is a bad omen." Gray warned.

"You had seen this before?" the wyverian asked.

"Yes, many times in the past. The last chief and the chief before him too meow! Actually, it is a centenary tradition that when the sky turns dark like this the spirits are angry. Bad things happen, very bad things, Meow! People die, monsters die and sometimes even mountains fall. You have to be very cautious when this happens and pray to the gods for protection." The felyne answered. "Sometimes it turns completely dark and you can´t see anything, even with our good eyes!" the chief pointed to his cat eyes.

"Hm…we have to double the precaution." Shen said turning to his guards. "Tell the hunters to be wary and prepare the torches to use if necessary." The elder commanded.

"But this is only superstition." a guard argued.

"Superstitions have a base of truth, young one. Do as I said." Shen ordered.

The guards looked at the sky, it had a grey tone instead of usual dark blue. They all came to the conclusion that it was really something out of normal and so followed the elder´s order.

**(Old Desert)**

Yoru sidestepped three consecutive fireballs, she saw the monster jumping into the air doing a front flip but she ran to the left just in time to escape the massive body of the wyvern. She spun and then did a rising slash with the sword, hitting the monster´s injured underbelly. The craved sword sunk deeper into the monster´s organs, the Rathian spitted blood.

"_A weak spot?" _Yoru thought as the monster jumped to the right to gain space.

The wyvern shrugged and more blood dripped from the wounds. It charged at the huntress with surprising speed considering its wounds. Yoru didn´t have time for a heavenly impact so she simply went for a horizontal attack. Unfortunately the monster saw it coming and used its powerful wings to jump back. The huntress was knocked out by the wind gust and fell to the ground. When Yoru looked again she saw the monster jumping into the air, flapping just one of its wings as the other moved backwards.

"Not again!" she said crawling backwards, the spikes missed her legs by just mere inches.

The monster, however, kept flapping its wings. The mouth was practically burning with blue flames at this point.

Yoru gulped, "You can´t be serious." she said grabbing her sword from the ground.

A beam of blue light swept across the ground, turning the sand into small bits of glass as I made its way towards the huntress. Yoru ran the fastest she could as the beam of fire followed her. Unfortunately the sky was getting darker and the darkness hid the rock in the huntress´ way, she tripped but managed to keep running.

"I can´t keep running forever, I have to get closer!" Yoru said to herself turning to the left, the beam followed her with higher speed.

"I should have run away!" the huntress forced her legs to move faster, she didn´t known that a wyvern could lower its head more easily than it could move upwards.

The beam stopped when Yoru was halfway through but she continued to run. "_She will try to fall on top of me, I have to strike her from below and take advantage of the weight!" _she held her sword at her side in a lowered position.

At this point there was only sufficient light to distinguish the general form of the huntress but despite this the Rathian followed the huntress´ movements with the precision of a nocturnal hunter. When the woman was almost below the monster it made its move but instead of falling down like the huntress predicted it dived at the direction where Yoru was coming from. Yoru grunted, there was a good distance between them.

"_It is getting too dark, if I lose my sword I won´t be able to find it again Yet it seems she can see me very well." _The huntress tightened her grip over the longsword, the Rathian had turned to face her again.

"Keep the adrenaline pumping or you will die of coldness_." _The huntress said to herself. "But if lose my focus I will die too!" she dodged the charging Rathian and then ducked under a tail sweep. "Focus, focus, focus… " the huntress repeated as she dodged the monster´s fireballs.

**(Flashback)**

"_I told you before, it is very hard to do "heavenly impact" during combat, you have to focus and forget all the emotions that can get in the way, like anger and despair."Derek said._

**(End of flashback)**

Yoru jumped back to dodge a bite, "But the spot is underneath…" she said as the monster jumped back too. "Focus, focus…I can only see the monster, everything else is darkness. Only one weak spot and an intelligent monster…She won´t fall for a feign attack, I need to expose the belly." Yoru said calmly as she dodged the monster´s relentless attacks.

"If I force her to stand up for two seconds I can do it. But she won´t do it, she is fighting serious now." The huntress said shivering, "And she is avoiding spitting fireballs now, Ugh! It is getting really cold. Very clever Rathian." The woman ran away to avoid a wave of spikes.

"Using spikes as ranged attacks and always landing far away to protect the belly. Dam! How can I do this?!" Yoru cursed as the monster dived like a hawk.

The monster struck the ground with so much strength that the sand below dispersed like a cloud of smoke. Yoru coughed, somehow the monster missed her and instead craved its deadly weapons on the sand. Before the huntress could do anything she heard a strange sound, it sounded like some kind of gas was leaking.

"The corrosive gas! *cough*!" Yoru said trying to crawl away from the beast which simply jumped back using its powerful wings. She didn´t even care to look down at her armor, the area was pitch black excluding the glowing monster and the equipment was pretty much already destroyed.

The red haired woman stood up and looked at the Rathian, the beast was standing upwards with the head lowered down as if trying to look at its own chest.

The huntress ran the fastest she could but halfway through the monster looked upwards and spotted her. Weirdly its eyes were no longer glowing and so the head was completely invisible, fortunately the other glowing parts still gave a good notion of the monster´s form. When Yoru was about to strike the creature it jumped upwards and quickly gained height, the huntress watched it fly in circles around the area.

"I really need ranged weapons." the huntress looked at the red glowing spot.

The monster was flying even faster than before and the huntress had to constantly turn around to keep track of it. Suddenly Yoru felt the sand shaking, sand clouded her vision forcing her to cover her eyes with her arms. The ground shook more eight times until it finally stopped. Yoru lowered her arms and looked upwards, she saw the Rathian making a turn at her direction. It was clear that it was preparing to dive at her.

The huntress raised her sword and put it over her shoulder, leaning her back to get in a better position. "_Focus on the monster, take a deep breath, clear your mind of any emotions and wait for the moment. Feel the difference in the distance and strike when the time comes."_ Yoru repeated Derek´s instructions in her mind. The monster was closing in and the huntress was about to attack when the image of a burning house clouded her mind. She attacked a split second too soon and so completely missed the target. The Rathian passed by and flapped its wings to gain height again.

"Dam it!" Yoru cursed, "No matter what I say or what I do, I won´t ever forget that day! Ever!" the huntress looked at the ground, her anger was building up again.

"I am a person, I can´t erase my own emotions! If I do this I am no different than a wyvern!" Yoru said looking at the monster which was making a sharp turn to the side.

"But I can´t let the anger overcome me! I must control it, not be controlled by it!" Yoru said looking at the monster, it was hovering in the sky moving the left wing back and then forward and then did the same thing with the other wing.

The huntress knew what was about to happen and so jumped back to avoid the line of spikes, she heard a swooping sound as two spikes from the second wave passed just by the sides of her head. Yoru looked back, "_The spikes! They are sharp and of good size. I can use them, this if I FIND THEM!" _Yoru thought as she searched the ground for said objects, behind her she could hear the monster roaring, the sound growing with every second.

Yoru grabbed something from the ground and was about to turn and throw it when she noticed it wasn´t a spike. "A shield?" the huntress said to herself trying to look at it but then she noticed it was useless to see in the darkness.

The wyvern shot a single orange fireball at her so Yoru moved whatever she was holding in front of her body and bent her legs to keep them behind the object. The fireball hit its mark and dissolved itself in a splash of fire, spewing fire on the ground. When the huntress lowered her arm she saw small sparks of fire around the area, giving enough light for her to identify the object on her hand.

It was rectangular with what seemed to be straps of leather and a small handle on the middle, which was what she was holding. It was impossible to identify its material with the dimming light of the fire but judging by what just happened the shield resisted the flames pretty well.

The huntress looked at the sky and saw the monster descending to the ground. Wasting no time she left her longsword on the ground and passed one of the leather straps over her arm then she moved her other hand to pass the second strap over her hand. The result was a greatshield on her back held by two large straps of leather. Yoru proceeded to grab her sword from the ground.

"This thing is definitively heavy but it will do the work. This can compensate my destroyed armor…"" The huntress commented jumping up and down to test her strength and stamina.

The Rathian roared from afar, Yoru searched the ground for her longsword as she watched the monster charge at her. "Come on, come on, here!" the huntress grabbed her longsword and took the opportunity to make a rising slash with it.

The beast was more intelligent and moved its head upwards, jumping in the process and bringing its spiked tail forward. Yoru missed the target but because of the movement she had spun her whole body and so the tail struck the greatshield on her back sending her to the ground without any injuries.

Yoru rolled to the side just in time to dodge being stomped by the monster´s powerful foot. She continued to roll a few more times until she judged it was far enough and then did her best to stand up again. She looked at the monster and it looked back at her, the creature´s small eyes were glowing with the blood red tone the huntress was used to hate. For some reason the glow of the wings had vanished, leaving only the claws of the feet, the spikes on the back and wing highlighted.

"_It this keep going, I won´t be able to see her. What is happening to her? Is she losing power?" _Yoru thought as she slowly walked to the side, the beast following her movements with its head and turning accordingly.

The huntress bit her lips to keep her mouth closed, it was getting colder and the urge to shiver was only getting stronger and stronger. Her hands were numb and her head hurt, she had to finish this battle soon or she would perish before sunrise.

"I won´t die here, I won´t die here!" the red haired woman charged at the monster which jumped back and ran forward. The huntress gasped as she was sent to the ground, when she looked at the Rathian it was jumping back.

"She isn´t getting weaker, she is just toying with me. It is only a question of time until I die, she knows it." Yoru mumbled as she stood up. "I have to stop thinking and do something." she said gripping her longsword with both hands. "I have to be more aggressive, more vicious and faster without losing my mind and let my emotions out. This will be hard." The woman chuckled. "There is always a challenge, isn´t it?" Yoru walked towards the Rathian, after a while she started running with the sword held at her side.

The Rathian charged too, the distance between them rapidly reduced until they were just a few feet away from each other. At the last moment both combatants jumped back and made a quick charge at each other. Yoru hit the monster´s head with a vertical chop and then swung the longsword to the right to give enough space to deliver a full blow to the monster´s cheek. Taking the momentum the huntress spun and made a rising slash which knocked the monster´s head upwards. The glowing spot in the creature´s belly could be seen so Yoru gave a step forward in order to strike it.

However the huntress didn´t notice the Rathian´s head coming down and she was hit by the skull with such strength that she fell straight to the ground. She pushed herself up using her hands and then coughed sand, the monster had already jumped back.

"Blerg!" Yoru spitted sand on the ground and looked at the Rathian. "Sand taste is horrible!" she shouted as she passed her free hand over her tongue. "And Pasir too, how can they lick themselves anyway?!" the huntress bragged, pasir actually meant sand in the old language and for some reason the translation came into her mind.

"I´m going to make you taste it too!" Yoru claimed charging at the monster once again with a smile on her face, the idea of retribution was partially rooted in anger but also amusement.

When they were about to clash for the second time Yoru used all the power in her legs to leap to the side, the monster continued to run for a while until it realized it had missed the huntress. The beast stopped mid track, made a quick turn and charged again. Yoru was still getting up when she was forced to dive again and again to dodge the monster´s constant turning and charging.

"_This is not what I was planning…"_Yoru thought as she dived once again, she fell with the face on the ground but at least she managed to keep her mouth closed.

The huntress raised from the ground once more, her body was covered with sand which created a very unpleasant sensation of hardness and coldness on her skin. The shield and the sword weighed like a whole set of iron armor and jumping around was taking a great tool on her legs.

The wyvern rushed again and the huntress dived once more but this time it accidentally stepped in a trail of sand which was previously turned glass resulting in the Rathian falling on the sand. The red haired woman ran after the wyvern but instead of going straight she made an arch to the side in order to avoid a possible attack from the tail and to reach the creature´s leg. She struck the leg with the longsword and then hit again and again. With each strike Yoru felt more eager to strike again despite the weariness and vibrations she was feeling. She was actually happy to finally dish some damage instead of just dodging and receiving hits, a defensive style never was her strength despite everything Derek taught her.

In response the wyvern expelled corrosive gas which forced the huntress to retreat to avoid her shield being corrode too. The Rathian jumped to the opposite side and turned to face Yoru, the injured leg was slightly bent.

"She can still fly." She commented running after the monster.

Yoru shouted as she did the combo known as the "Spiritual Dance" which consisted of two wide lateral attacks followed by quick slashes going from left and right and finishing with a vertical shop. However, instead of finishing the combo she sidestepped and attacked the left wing with a downward attack followed by a rising slash that hit the bone with a cracking sound.

With her real objective achieved she jumped to the left just in time to avoid a bite from the wyvern. With a spin she extended her longsword forward and hit the monster´s face three times and then swung the sword upwards diagonally sending a bunch of sand towards the sky. This movement was called "Rock Thrower", a technique normally used only by hammer users because of the concentrated weight of the weapon.

Yoru had seen Rick doing the move some times in the past. When asked if the technique could be used with other weapons the Rubber Knight had answered that weapons like a greatsword and hunting horn were too big and would bounce off the ground and other weapons hadn´t the necessary weight or wouldn´t benefit from using the attack since it would be better to just attack normally.

The huntress stepped forward but then remembered the last time she tried to do this. With a shout Yoru swung her sword upwards, she hit the end of the monster´s neck once and retreated her sword to strike again.

"Keep! Your head! Up!" Yoru screamed hitting three more times as her anger built up.

The Rathian, however, continued trying to slam its head down in an attempt to crush the huntress much to the woman´s annoyance.

"I WILL return to my friends! I promised them I would kill you today! I won´t break that promise!" Yoru claimed as she continued to strike the same spot over and over again with increasing speed.

Yoru gathered all her strength in a final strike and swung her longsword for the final time. The attack was so powerful that the Rathian remained with the head raised towards the sky for a split second before falling down on its back, launching sand into the air.

Yoru took fast deep breaths as she walked towards the fallen monster dragging her longsword across the sand.

"The sky is still dark, this means you are still alive." The huntress looked at the glowing spot that she considered the heart and then to the creature´s face, it looked like its eyes were closed.

The rest of the glowing spots slowly faded to nothingness and now only the "heart" remained. The red haired huntress slowly raised sword atop her head.

"You ruined my life, killed my family, tried to kill me and destroyed my new home." Yoru tightened her grip over the sword. "Yet you forced me to go to Kokoto where I lived a new life and met precious people and friends, drove me to be stronger and fought like a demon. You tried to flee a few times but…I guess it is because I wasn´t a worthy opponent myself." She smiled. The huntress looked at the glowing heart one last time before striking the embed sword with her longsword.

The sharp sword completely sunk into the creature´s heart, spitting blood like a red geyser. After a while the geyser ceased and the heart finally stopped glowing. Yoru looked at the sky, the darkness was slowly going away.

"It is finally over…" the huntress murmured. "I can´t believe it is FINALLY…over…" she sighed. The sky cleared enough to let light come through and bathe the sand, it was welcoming, comforting, gentle and…

"Light?" Yoru asked confused. "But it was night when I…" she stopped and looked back at the wyvern´s corpse. "You were this powerful?" the huntress said in awe.

**(Kokoto)**

Derek looked at the sky as the clouds dispersed revealing a bright Sun, it was one hour away from midday and fortunately there were no reports of attacks during the rest of the night and during the day. It has been a little more than a day since the Black Rathian had attacked and it would take at least one day and half for the reinforcements from Jumbo to arrive.

The red armored hunter sat on a bench and drank from a flask of water, he was taking a well deserved break from the exhaustive guard duty since another hunter took his place a few minutes ago.

"_At least we managed to clean most of the mess and store what was left of the food. Hopefully it won´t attract more monsters in the meantime. If another experienced hunter come to the village I´m going out to search for Yoru. I can´t just leave Kokoto like this, we are having a very hard situation and are low on resources. If another group of Yian Garuga comes few will have the capacity to kill them quickly." _he thought.

A guard blew the emergency horn three times, indicating that something important but not urgent had happened. Derek stood up and followed the direction he thought the sound was coming from. Sadly it wasn´t two blows, it would mean the reinforcements had arrived and he could search for Yoru yet he was still curious about what had happened.

The Rathalos hunter arrived at the North Gate where a very tired hunter was talking some nonsense about a lake.

"What´s happening here? " Derek asked making his way through the hunters.

"This hunter says there is a large pack of velocipreys feasting on a lake far to the North." a guard answered.

"And what´s special about this?" Derek asked.

"The lake itself! It is enormous but it is COMPLETELY dry, the preys are eating the dead fishes on the bottom. There is even a dead Plesioth on ground and a huge trail of destroyed and burned trees!" the hunter said in fast pace.

"Wait! Wait! You said trail of burned trees?" Derek asked taking a step forward.

"Yes! And burned marks on some areas too! Couldn´t get any closer or all the preys would spot me! There were dozens of them!" the hunter gesticulated with his hands.

"_That´s why the attacks ceased, they are busy eating the dead fishes. This will keep their bellies full for at least a day or two" _Derek thought. "Do you know where the lake is?!" Derek grabbed the man´s shoulders.

"Ah. Y-yes! But why do you want to know?" the man asked.

Derek looked at the blue sky with the shining Sun. "Because I need to go check some things! I need to…"

"Just go." an elder said.

Derek released the hunter and looked behind. Shen and Gray were standing in front of the other hunters.

"But we still don´t have enough hunters to keep the village safe. We need every capable hunter defending this place." Derek protested.

"Just like you said, meow! We need every capable hunter, including Nightfury, meow!" Gray said.

Shen nodded, "I know it must be hard for you, to stay here when you could go after your friend. You can go now, we can handle this until you two return." The elder said.

"Really? " Derek asked.

"Do I need to make this a quest?" Shen asked with a smile.

"No, thank you chief." Derek bowed respectfully. "I will make preparations and leave soon." the hunter walked back to the village but stopped when he saw Elvis.

"You know this is not the wisest decision. You are only one of the few 4 stars who are still alive. " The horn user said.

"Why everyone forget about us?!" Kai stepped forward. "I mean! I know you rarely need us but it is not like we are amateur monster hunters or the like! You know how many hunters actually praise us when we bring back their grandfather´s sword after WEEKS of pursuit?" the man bragged.

"And I thought Rick was annoying. Gods! He has to say everything that crosses his mind?" Elvis asked.

Derek laughed, "Yoru told me about you. Can your men keep the people safe?" he asked.

"It is not our primary duty but…I guess we have to do extra work from time to time. We always have a ton of problems to solve anyway, theft, stubborn mercenaries, long and exhaustive trips. It never ends! Gods! Why I chose this job anyway?" Kai sighed as he covered his face with his hand. "But you can count on me. Thinking about, shouldn´t I be the one going after the huntress?"

"I have to do this, it´s my own promise." Derek shook his head to the sides.

"A promise? I understand. Rest assured that we will keep this village safe while you are out." Kai smiled.

Derek looked at Elvis, "Can you take care of the planning and resources?" he asked.

"It is not my forte but I will do what I can. A diversity of skills has its uses." Elvis smiled.

"Good, see you guys in a few days." Derek waved and went back to the messenger hunter. "Come with me, you have to show me how to get there." he said and gesture for the man to follow him.

**(Old desert)**

Yoru sat on the ground by the monster´s corpse, sweat fell from her face. "I almost miss the cold." she mumbled looking around.

There was a rock formation not far from her position, the rock was angled to the side and could provide a nice shelter from the burning Sun. With great effort the huntress lifted the sword with both hands and was about to adjust it on her back when she remembered she already had the shield strapped. With no other options she dragged the sword across the ground.

Halfway through Yoru looked behind her shoulder and saw the corpse of the Black Rathian. It felt like she walked a good distance but in fact she didn´t cover half the distance.

"This is what they must call a mirage…" Yoru said sweating as she continued to walk.

After what felt like an eternity the huntress finally reached the stone. As she predicted the form of the rock provided a very spacious shadow as shelter. With a sigh she left the longsword on the ground and took off the shield from her back.

"Let´s take a look at this life saver." Yoru said as she sat with her back on the rock and grabbed the shield with both hands. Her face fell when she turned the thing that saved her life. "Pink…it is a FREAKING PINK shield!" the huntress tightened her grip over the shield´s borders, the shield was entirely covered by pink scales.

The huntress couldn´t believe it, of all the shields it was a pink and feminine one that saved her life. Pink was a very feminine color and manly used by girls which favored make up and looks over useful and important skills. The color itself represented what Yoru didn´t want to be and despised it because men would threat women different because of those habits. However, one line of thought occurred which calmed her down.

"This means it was owned by a huntress." she said, after some inspection she recognized the type of the scales. "Pink Rathian´s scales? This explains why it held so well against that fireball. This means she was a very skilled huntress." Yoru smiled leaving the greatshield on the ground.

"How funny…I first came to this desert in search of a heavy sword and this time I find a greatshield when I most need it. I guess this place is full of useful treasures." Yoru looked at the other side of the shield but didn´t find a name carved into the material or any sort of identification. "I need to mark my equipments when I get back." she said placing the shield down.

A dry bush rolled through the sand dunes, carried by the lonely winds of the desert.


	25. Double Nightfury

Derek watched the velociprey feast on the now dry lake. He was crouched behind a rock with his greatsword on the back.

"So what you said is true." Derek muttered to his guide which was hiding behind a tree.

"What are we going to do now? We can´t fight them all." the hunter asked.

"If I had some rest I could but not after what happened today. You should get back to the village and help the others, I can handle this from now on." Derek commented.

"But!" the other protested but Derek made a gesture for him to be quiet.

"I won´t fight them I will just sneak to the other side and follow the trail. I´m searching for the creature that did this. If you come with me it will be harder to get past them." The red hunter said.

The other hunter shifted uncomfortably in his spot but finally nodded, "Okay but take this." he offered a smoke bomb.

Derek took the item and stored in his pouch, "Now go before more velocipreys come." he ordered.

**(Old Desert)**

Yoru licked her lips, the hotness of the desert was already getting a tool on her.

"Great! No resources, no potions, no drinks and the map is useless now. I would go to the East but I don´t even know if it is past midday or not!" the huntress bragged to make herself feel less lonely.

The huntress heard something so she turned her head to the side to see what it was. The Black Rathian´s corpse was standing just a few foot away gazing at her with black eyes!

"And now I am seeing illusions, just what I needed!" Yoru said looking at the other side. "You are dead and like my parents…you are gone for good." the huntress said sadly, when she looked back the monster had disappeared just as she expected.

"If I stay here I will die but if I go to the wrong direction I might end going deeper into the desert…" Yoru said turning her head to the other side. She blinked once and then opened her eyes again.

The Black Rathian´s head was just a few inches away from her face, staring at her with black eyes devoid of life.

"You!" Yoru pointed her finger at the floating head, "If you don´t stop annoying me I will smash every last scale of your corpse!" she shouted. With sigh she closed her eyes and when she opened them again the head was gone.

"I must be getting crazy… I better go on before I start talking with the sword. Oh! I almost forgot!" the huntress forced her feet to stand up. She lazily walked back to the Black Rathian´s body and took out the twin swords from the blood covered corpse.

"I wonder…your skin can sustain a flurry of cuts and even a heavenly impact. However, my swords easily cut it. But once again they are extremely sharp and you basically launched yourself into one of them as I attacked you." Yoru pondered.

"Too bad I don´t have an Aptonoth to carry the materials. What I am saying? They don´t even live in deserts. The closest thing I can get is an Apceros but they are far less kind. That´s one thing to consider, they have hard shells on their back and are apt to fight back. But how would someone strap the ropes and bags if the back is round?" the red haired woman thought.

"I should be more worried about getting water instead of armor! Idiot! Idiot! WHY A DESERT OF ALL PLACES!" she shouted with all the strength of her lungs.

The huntress heard something from behind and so turned to see what was happening. A group of sand colored monsters were huffing with hatred.

"Cephalos!" Yoru said as she grabbed her twin swords.

Cephalos are piscine wyverns with a hammer shaped head and scales covered by sand. These monsters have the body shaped similarly to sharks with a pair of legs underneath to aid in swimming in the sand. Since they are almost blind they utilize their sensitive hearing to identify their preys, something a hunter can use to his/her advantage.

A cephalos raised its head and then launched a stream of sand at the huntress but she took a small step to the side and dodged it.

"Ugh! I´m too tired to fight four of them…" the huntress mumbled.

Another cephalos jumped forward and moved in the sand like a snake and hitting the huntress like a hammer. Yoru fell to the ground with her back on the sand, she gritted her teeth in pain.

"Mi-miserables, cowards…I need…water." the huntress raised her head.

A third cephalos emerged from the sand, jumping into the air to fire a quick stream of sand at the huntress.

Yoru felt her eyes weary as she gazed at the clean sky. From the corner of her vision she saw a familiar face approaching, it was Rick wearing his Gypceros armor without the helm.

"Need a little help?" he asked with a smile.

"Do you have water? That would be really helpful right now" Yoru asked tired.

"No but I can give you a hand." Rick offered his hand.

Yoru tried to reach the hand but she was too exhausted to lift her arm. "I can´t do this." the huntress said.

"Come on what are you talking about?! You are Yoru the Nightfury! Savior of Grey´s people and our hero too! You can´t give up that easily!" Rick said.

"I don´t have any strength left…I spent all of it going after my sword and killing the Black Rathian. This is too much, even for me." Yoru argued.

"This isn´t the friend I know! Come on! Just a bit longer! Derek is giving his best to protect the village while you are away and he is WAITING for you!" Rick instigated the huntress.

"But I don´t have anything to use…potions, armor, maps, equipment…how I am going to get out of this?" the huntress protested.

"You still have your heart and your wits. I´m also with you." Rick offered the hand again.

"Stop saying stupid things Rick this is not funny. You died, you aren´t here anymore." the huntress said closing her eyes.

"Your parents aren´t happy with your attitude, they think you aren´t a worthy daughter." the hunter said.

"What did you say?" Yoru opened her eyes.

"That´s what you heard! They are ashamed of having a whinny daughter that don´t fight back!" Rick continued.

Yoru clenched her fists, "I tried to fight back…" she argued getting angrier.

"Like that was a huge effort from your part, you didn´t even try! Even Yue put more effort in stealing your stuff!" Rick shouted.

"SHUT UP!" Yoru shouted as she punched the air.

The huntress used her hands to rise from the ground. When she looked around Rick wasn´t there anymore nor the cephalos.

"An hallucination?" Yoru said as she grabbed the twin swords from the ground and put them on her back. She looked at the sky with a smile, "Even dead you still make me angry don´t you? Hahaha…Thanks for the help Rick." the woman smiled at the sky.

With a grunt she walked back to her resting spot but a few steps later her feet bumped into something, catching her attention. It was the corpse of a cephalos with many nasty wounds.

"What happened to it?" she asked crouching to inspect, she noticed the blood was still fresh. "Wait! Could it be…!" Yoru grabbed the swords from her back, both were stained with fresh blood.

"Did I kill it?" the huntress stared at the stained swords in awe. "I only remember getting hit by a stream of sand and then darkness…" she said to herself with a somber tone.

"_I never lost my senses like this. If I lose my consciousness and hurt someone I care about…NO! I can´t allow this to happen! I use anger to fight and not the other way around. I am Nightfury, protector of Kokoto not Yoru´s fury, the mindless killer!"_ the huntress thought clenching her fingers around the swords.

The huntress turned her attention to the corpse, she stared at it with a frown on her face. "This is disgusting!" she said looking away but then turned her face back to the still fresh meat. "I can´t believe I am considering doing this." Yoru placed one of the swords on her back and placed her free hand on the blood stained scales of the monster.

I better not get a disease or vomit it. If that happens I will certainly die." the huntress said deepening her frown. "Just have to make sure to avoid the intestine and the digestive acids." she said piercing the monster´s body with her sword.

**(Jungle-Nortwest area)**

Derek crouched to inspect the ground, he noticed burned grass and marks on the ground like someone had scratched it with a weapon. "It is easy to follow the tracks but how far did they get?! It has been at least an hour since I reached the dried lake. If this keep going I will end up in the Swamp." the hunter said standing up.

A gentle breeze came from behind the hunter and with it a very nostalgic and bad memory. He slumped down his shoulders in distress. This situation was very familiar to him, too much to not be considered.

"I hope she learned to avoid the poison mist during night time." the hunter said taking a step forward.

Derek stopped when he felt an unusual stream of wind, it felt…artificial and concentrated, like a punch instead of a wave. He only felt this feeling once in his entire life and he hoped to never feel it again.

"_Kushala is nearby…"_ the hunter thought with a gulp.

Derek jumped inside a bush and crouched to hide from the dragon, even with his training he was still miles away from being on par with a dragon like Kushala. "_Hump…I guess it is research time. Dragon ecology is always useful."_ he thought tired with the new trouble.

The dragon came a few seconds later, walking on its four legs as it made its way forward. Kushala seemed to be rusted as its scales were a brown with hints of degradation and Derek could barely see the scar on its face that Yoru had caused in the past.

"_It is going straight through the path. Is it following the track?_" the hunter thought holding his breath, he deduced that since Kushala was the dragon of wind it could feel any minor difference in the wind. A sigh or a breath of relieve could denounce his position and he REALLY didn´t want that.

Kushala walked a few steps and then jumped into the air, the dragon floated for a while before he ascended and flied away. Derek carefully walked out of the bush gasping for air.

"Arf! Arf! I thought it would never go away…" he said taking a deep breath. "This is too much of a coincidence. Did it feel the change in the sky and now is searching for it?" the hunter pondered, "If this is true then Yoru is in danger, she won´t stand a chance against Kushala after a battle like this one. I better hurry up!" he followed the trail with renewed vigor.

**(Old Desert)**

Yoru sat under the rock formation that acted as cover from the burning Sun. She placed the greatshield on the ground with the scales faced down and grabbed a piece of meat she carved from the dead cephalos. With a grunt she squeezed the meat causing the blood to fall off into the makeshipt bowl. She repeated the process until the greatshield was full with the red liquid.

"This is even MORE DISGUSTING but it is the only source of "water" I have *sighs*. I miss the tavern´s food." the huntress said grabbing the greatshield.

The taste was indeed disgusting, it was thick, salty and something else she couldn´t describe. Yoru used all her willpower to not spit the blood and gulp it down. It was a hard task and it took several tries until the greatshield was "clean" again. She looked at the rest of the meat with doubt but dismissed the idea with a shake of her head.

"The blood makes a good taste on meat anyway."

She placed the various pieces of meat on top of rocks and then moved the stones out of the cover of the Sun so they could properly cook. There were two groups of meat: the smaller ones without most of the blood and the bigger ones with practically all the blood.

Yoru returned to her resting spot with a smile on her face. "The smaller ones will cook faster but they will probably taste worse while the bigger ones will be tasty and more nutritive. Why didn´t I think of this method before? The small ones will feed me as I wait for the rest to cook. I need to remember to pass this to the others when I get back." the huntress looked down at her destroyed armor and stained clothes.

"I should give this whole hunting thing a break and learn how to actually forge my own armor. You never know what can happen." she said looking at the sky, the Sun was slightly closer to the horizon compared to what she remembered. "Then this means East is behind me…I will wait just to be sure." Yoru moved herself to be more comfortable.

"_Just like the days on the forests and jungles. Good times, hard but good times." _Yoru smiled.

**(With Derek)**

The red armored hunter heard something rustle behind him. In a split of a second he turned and grabbed his greatsword with both hands. "Who´s there?!" he asked.

"N-No one, meow!" a female voice answered timidly.

"A felyne? Step out of the brush so I can see you!" Derek ordered.

A grey felyne stepped out of a bush. She wore a blue bandana around her forehead and held a simple wooden spear. "Please! Meow! I mean no harm." she said cowering in fear.

"Wai? What are you doing here?" the hunter asked putting his sword on his back.

"It is spelled "Way" not "Why"." the felyne corrected.

"Sorry. Look, I don´t want to be rude but I am in a hurry." Derek said approaching.

"Uh! Ah, ok! Meow! Erm…can I come with you?" Wai asked.

"Shouldn´t you be guarding the village?" Derek asked looking over his shoulder.

"Nyah! I mean, meow…I feel bad for insulting Nightfury. I want to help you in your journey." the felyne answered.

"Are you even a "comrade"?" Derek asked.

"Nyah, no." the felyne answered.

"What do you know?" Derek asked taking a deep breath.

"Cooking, medical treatment and my way around in the Old Desert." the felyne answered.

"Fine, you can come along. But we need to travel quickly with only few resting moments, I think Nightfury is in danger." Derek said gesturing for the felyne to follow him.

"You think she is still fighting the Black Rathian? Meow." Wai asked walking on four legs to follow the hunter more easily.

"No, the Black Rathian is probably dead." Derek answered keeping a good pace with the felyne at his side.

"How do you know?" Wai asked.

"Some time ago the sky was dark without any clouds. Only storm dragons or very powerful wyverns are capable of such feat and they are very scarce. Kushala is probably the only dragon close enough to Kokoto to cause any drastic change but from what I know he can´t simply make the sky darker, he needs to form clouds too." the hunter explained.

"What are you trying to say?" Wai asked.

"The sky cleared a few hours ago, which means that whatever was causing it died. You see what I am implying?" the red armored man asked.

"You think the Black Rathian Nightfury faced is the responsible for this?" Wai asked.

"It could be but I have to ask Yoru to confirm this." the hunter answered.

There was a moment of silence as they continued to follow the path of destruction until Wai spoke.

"I think it is a fitting name after all." the felyne said amused.

"What do you mean?" Derek asked.

"Yoru, her name I mean, meow! It means "night" in the language of yore." the felyne answered.

"Night? So when we call "Nightfury" for help we are literally calling out for "Yoru´s Fury" to save us?" Derek said with a brow raised.

"Something along these lines." Wai replied.

"Reminds me of that time she saved me in the Swamp." Derek smiled.

"What did she do?" the felyne asked.

"Hit Kushala Daora in the face three times in a row with that longsword. Broke the dragon´s scales .prompting him to fly away." the red hunter answered.

"Meow! Amazing!" the cat said surprised.

"Of course, she dislocated her bones after that but it was all we needed to survive. This happening during her trip back to the Jungle after she got the sword from the desert. It was a year ago or something." Derek said.

"Then this means she can kill Kushala now if they ever face each other again, right?" Wai asked.

"I don´t know. The problem is that Kushala faced many hunters during the course of the centuries, he has tons of experience against humans. Yoru is very skilled but she faced only a handful of creatures in her career as a huntress, besides she is hunting for just a year! I have 5 years of hunting experience and Kushala almost killed me without effort." Derek said.

"You seem to think highly of Kushala, why is that?" Wai asked.

"Wrong, I think Kushala is a coward just like Ignavus." the hunter said.

"Who?" the felyne asked.

"Ignavus, he brought rusted Kushala´s scales and claimed he killed the beast. Got demoted to assistant since then. Talking about it he should be free to hunt in three months if I´m not mistaken. I just hope he doesn´t cheat again or Shen might take his hunting license forever." the hunter answered.

"But why do you think they are alike and cowards?" the cat asked.

"Both are prideful and mock others when they get the upper hand. Kushala makes low roars when he is in safe distance and Ignavus mocks others to no end. They also flee from combat if slightly injured. Hahaha! If I didn´t know better I would say Kushala is a dragon reincarnation of Ignavus." Derek smiled.

**(Hours later)  
(Old Desert)**

Yoru fell asleep after waiting for so long for sundown. The burning Sun was setting on the horizon and the sky was a bright orange space. Many bones were scattered around the area with leftover meat still hanging on them and blood stained the once clean sand.

Far away from that location high on the sky a giant balloon floated. The fabric was painted with blue paint with two horizontal lines, one in the upper part and the other below. A squared platform hung below the balloon, held up by six large ropes. Inside the platform a small man was using a telescope to scope the area when he noticed the dead body of the Black Rathian.

"What is that?" the man asked zooming in, he saw the gaping mouth of the Rathian. "A Rathian? Wait…the color is black? I must examine it further." the man said grabbing a rope, he pulled it and the flames below the balloon burned stronger than before.

"My eyes don´t deceive me, it really is black. Doesn´t look scorched nor burned, intriguing…Uh? There are dead cephalos around but they´re not strong enough to kill a Rathian, they scales are weak against fire. What killed it?" the man talked to himself.

He followed a trail of blood until he reached a rock formation, Yoru was still sleeping and didn´t notice the giant balloon getting closer.

"Is that a hunter? Is he alive?" the man spotted the bones on the ground. "Yep, he is alive. I have to help him."

The researcher wrote a letter and turned his back to the telescope. There were two small cages on a corner, one contained a brown bird and one a white one. He opened the one containing the brown one and strapped the paper on its leg.

"Now go, Kokoto must know of this discovery." he said opening his hands so the bird could fly away.


	26. Heavenly Gift

Derek inspected the ground, there was a huge crater as if someone placed dozens of large barrel bombs and exploded them at the same time.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Derek looked around, the fragments weren´t spread around the area, they were more focused in one direction.

"What do you mean?" Wai asked and the hunter threw a fragment of stone for the felyne to catch.

""What do you see?" he asked standing up.

"Just a stone fragment, what special about it?" the felyne asked.

The hunter took off his helm. "Exactly, it is not burnt. This wasn´t caused by an explosion. Also there aren´t any monsters around capable of doing this kind of crater. It is not a Gypceros, Khezu, Yian Kut Ku, Rathian, Rathalos or Naruga. A Basarios can´t create a hole of this size and it is too small for an adult Gravios. It _could_ be a member of the carapeceon family but…" Derek paused to look around one more time. "…the fragments are too far away. Even when a Shogun Ceanataur burst through the ground it doesn´t create such destruction." Derek rubbed his head.

"You think it is the Black Rathian, meow?" Wai asked.

"I see no other explanation. Ever since they entered the swamp it became harder to track them. There aren´t any scorched trees and the burning marks on the ground are few and mostly hidden by water. This is the last clue we have." the hunter took off his helm.

"So you´re going to give up? We can´t…" Wai started but received a dark glare from Derek.

The red armored hunter closed his eyes and then opened again with a much more calm expression. "You don´t know me, do you?" he smiled searching his backpack, he grabbed a map and extended it with both hands.

"Yoru may be the hot headed and Rick the type that uses his head to do things but I use my brain." Derek said looking at the paper. "I traced the path from time to time in this spare map. See? They went straight to the North for many miles and then quickly changed to West. They changed directions some times but the direction is always consistent." Derek showed the paper.

"So they´re going to the desert?" Wai asked.

"Yes, that´s why you´re here." the hunter said

"Me?! But how did….?!" the felyne was speechless.

"Like I said, I use my brain to do things. I was thinking about this a while ago, I wasn´t certain but you know, why not? Besides, when people and felyne are really determined to do something they go to the boundaries of hell to get it. You would still follow me even if I said no, wouldn´t you?" Derek asked.

Wai hesitated and Derek noticed it. He frowned as he placed his helm back on his head and then pointed to the way they came from.

"Go back." he said emotionless.

"But we still have to…" Wai protested.

"If you are not committed to do this then you should leave. I´m not going to tell anyone or hold a grudge, you can go." Derek said firmly.

Wai turned her face to the way they came from, "But it is a Black Rathian! The bringer of darkness!" the felyne shouted.

"Uh?" Derek said confused. "What are you saying?" he asked taking a step forward.

Wai took a step back and covered her head with both paws, "Meow! I heard from the chief, nyah! He-he said something about dark sky and bad omen, bad things happens when the sky turns black, nyah! Hunters disappear when the sky gets shinny again .Nyah!" Wai said in a fast pace.

Derek stared at the felyne as he rubbed his chin. "Are you saying that every time the sky gets dark a hunter dies?" he asked more to himself than to the cat.

"The Black Rathian killed our heroes, nyah! I know it!" Wai said.

"It could be…but where is the proof?" Derek asked.

"Black Rathian, nyah! It is black as night! Coming for our current Nightfury! It must be the one that killed our last Nightfury! He was hunting a Rathian, meow! Gray always tells that Nightfury went to hunt a Rathian and never came back! " Wai said eagerly.

Derek looked at the sky then to the ground and finally to his own armor. "_The corrosive gas, the deaths of the hunters…rusted sword…This is not good." _Derek thought looking at the felyne. "Why are you still here?" he asked bitterly.

Wai lowered her head, " I lied, ok? I´m not here to ask Nightfury to forgive me…she did that before departing…"the felyne murmured. "I´m here because Pasir begged me to do it." the felyne raised her head, revealing tearful eyes. "But I´m scared! Meow! I don´t want to die! I thought I could do it, in his honor bu-but! Nyyyaaaahhh! It is too hard for me! I don´t stand a chance against that demon! Nyaaahh!" Wai cried.

Derek crouched and put his hand over the Wai´s head, "You know what we do against "demons?" he asked and Wai shook her head to the sides. "We do a single, focused, powerful and precise strike at their weakest spot to end the battle as quickly as possible. That´s why we developed "Heavenly Impact", to put an end to fast moving rampaging monsters like Rajangs and Tigrex." he said pointing to his sword.

"But will that be enough?" Wai asked rubbing her eyes.

"She resisted two "half baked" Heavenly Impact from two hunters. But if I am left alone for five seconds I think I can gather enough strength to at least incapacitate her." Derek answered as he stood up. "Do you wish to continue with me or not? Every minute counts and if I´m correct Yoru don´t have any cool drinks with her." the hunter said walking away. After a few steps he heard splashes of water, when he turned he saw Wai following him.

**(Desert)**

Yoru heard something but she didn´t care to open her eyes, "I´m not sleeping mom, I´m just resting my eyes." she mumbled.

The wyverian laughed at the scene, "I guess I was worried for nothing in the end." he smiled taking a sip of his cold drink.

Yoru slowly opened her eyes when she heard another voice, "Haikan, what are you doing here?" she asked with her vision blurred.

"Oh? No, no no no no! You must be mistaken, I am Kong." the wyverian said moving his hands to the sides.

Yoru blinked, her mind registering the words one by one. "Sorry, my vision used to be better. Like, you know..." she pointed to her blind eye. The huntress stood up and bowed respectfully. "Nice to meet to you, I´m Yoru Aruna Yukuna, the Nightfury of Kokoto." she said as a bit of sand fell from her clothes.

Kong rubbed his head, "Why you have a wyverian name? I thought only traditional families named their children with those names these days" the wyverian asked.

"Don´t know, never asked." the huntress shrugged.

Kong looked at the huntress with a brow raised, her armor was almost completely destroyed and there were many purple marks on her legs, arms and belly yet she acted if it was nothing. "Did you hit your head or something?" he asked pointing to the huntress.

"No, why?" Yoru asked confused.

"You have injuries all over your body, your armor is nothing but scraps and there is a dead Black Rathian just a few meters away. How can you be so laid back?!" Kong pointed to the right.

"Black…Rathian?" Yoru looked to where the wyverian was pointing. A trigger snapped inside her head like a gunlance firing a Wyvern Fire. She gritted her teeth and clenched her hands. "Dam you….you little Gypceros spawn!" she walked towards the corpse of the fallen wyvern with her swords drawn.

"Wait! Wait! That thing is already dead!" Kong told following the huntress.

"No! She´s not! She faking like a Gypceros!" Yoru said as she approached cautiously. The huntress leaned forward to stare at the monster´s head. "Since you didn´t kill me when I was trapped in your flames…I won´t kill you like this. Stand up and fight me!" Yoru pointed the sword at the monster´s mouth.

Kong sweat dropped, "Are you nuts?! There´s no way this Rathian is still alive!" the wyverian said walking closer.

"Don´t you test me! Aku no kido!" Yoru shouted.

"Demon of rage?" Kong raised a brow.

Yoru punched the wyvern´s nose and surprisingly enough the beast´s jaw jerked open. A blue light started to form inside the mouth as the eyes became a vibrant red. Noticing the awakening of the monster the huntress moved her head away as quickly as possible just in time to avoid a blue fireball. The projectile went far into the sky before exploding in dozens of sparks.

Yoru spun her swords and then made an "X" slash on the monster´s neck making a deep cut on it. The Rathian groaned as the eyes faded to black again.

Kong´s mouth was wide open, this huntress was actually right! "How did you know?!" he asked surprised.

Yoru looked at the Rathian expecting any sudden move or attack but nothing came. "I´m surprised you could do this after all! Your will is stronger than mine." Yoru clapped her hands.

"I left her a good distance from where we are. There was NO way she could be this close!" Yoru said putting the swords on her back. "Your name is Kong, right?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah! I was on a research when I spotted you and that thing over there." the elder pointed to the now (certainly dead) wyvern.

"I would love to hear your research but I need to go back to Kokoto. There are people waiting for me. I have to find a safe spot before night or the I will die." Yoru turned her back to the wyverian.

"Hey! My research is important! I´m part of the Elder Dragon research party!" Kong fumed.

Yoru stopped walking. "How convenient…because Kushala is coming." she pointed towards the sky.

"What?!" Kong ran towards his balloon and searched for a brass telescope, when he found it he quickly ran back to the huntress.

Far away there was a small dot approaching with a bunch of clouds around.

"By the Gods…It really is Kushala!" Kong exclaimed.

"Why every %*&amp;¨&amp; monster decides to attack me when I´m not prepared or in my prime?! This is ridicules!" Yoru cursed walking back to her resting spot to grab her equipment.

The huntress put the twin swords on the ground and then strapped the pink greatshield on her back like she did earlier. Finally she grabbed the hilt of her longsword but didn´t manage to lift it, she was too exhausted to do so.

"I will have to go with the swords then…" Yoru sighed grabbing the twin swords.

Meanwhile Kong was dying from excitement, he could barely contain himself from this golden opportunity. "Oh my! Oh my! I have to record this!" he exclaimed going back to his balloon.

"And I thought Haikan was obsessed." Yoru stared at the incoming dragon.

When the huntress judged the dragon was close enough she took a deep breath and held it. She expelled the air in a short but powerful shout but this time it was a bit more lower pitched because of her sore throat. Kong was so surprised by the roar that he released all the items he was carrying.

"What?! It is already here?!" Kong said grabbing all the papers and annotations on the ground while looking for the elder dragon.

The elder dragon of storms got dangerously close but then stopped and hovered in the air. His scales were brownish and rusted but this was the only difference Yoru noticed.

"Came for a rematch?! I may be tired but I won´t go down without a fight!" Yoru shouted as she entered the classic dual swords battle stance.

Kushala groaned but turned his head to the side, Yoru noticed the movement and so moved her eye to see what caught the dragon´s attention.

"Incredible! Fantastic! To be able to see Kushala from so close!" Kong said excited as he wrote down on his book. "His scales DO rust over time and it seems they are about to fall apart. By the Gods I may have the chance to see him shedding his old scales!" Kong´s words were almost unrecognizable by now.

As if annoyed by the talkative wyverian Kushala raised his head and then fired a gust of air at the little man. Yoru saw the breath coming and so moved to grab the wyverian, the gust of air hit the greatshield on her back with the power of a storm sending both flying away.

Yoru´s face was planted on the ground and once again sand entered her mouth. "_I´m getting really sick of this!" _Yoru thought spitting on the ground. "Are you okay?" she asked the wyverian.

Kong was paralyzed with his arms and legs bent. His whole body was shivering and his eyes were wide open.

"I guess he´s broken…" Yoru mumbled standing up.

"Alright! That´s…what?" Yoru stopped when she looked at the dragon.

Kushala was standing very close to the Black Rathian´s body. He lowered his head, sniffed the blood a few times and then roared at the corpse. He proceeded to walk towards the neck and sniffed the blood again. With a trust of his head he bitted the corpse´s damaged neck and made vigorous moves to the side to cause as much damage as possible.

"Is he…" Yoru said as she lowered her weapons.

Kushala left the corpse and turned to face the huntress, blood was dripping from his mouth. Yoru entered her battle stance and gave a quick look behind to see if Kong was okay. The wyverian was still paralyzed in the same position she left him.

Kushala stood up in his hind legs and gave a powerful roar before landing on four legs again. Clouds started to gather in the sky as if summoned by the storm dragon. Soon rain fell down on the arid ground and thunders and lighting erupted from the sky bringing sudden sparks of light with them. It wasn´t hot anymore and the color of the ground soon changed to almost match the dragon´s skin.

"Whoa…you really are dramatic, aren´t you?" Yoru chuckled.

Kushala groaned something just as a lighting struck the ground between him and the huntress. The dragon of storms jumped into the air and flapped his wings to hover in the air.

"Don´t you dare!" Yoru threatened.

Kushala made a quick turn and flew away but the storm didn´t stop. Yoru fell backwards as she shouted in frustration. Rain drops landed on her face as she took heavy breaths to ease her anger.

The rain , "What happened?" he asked as he stood up.

"You just froze in fear and Kushala escaped. It is the second time this happens!" Yoru punched the ground. "And now it is raining…Wait! It IS RAINING!" Yoru quickly got on her feet and took off the greatshield from her back.

The huntress´s legs faltered and she kneeled on the ground exhausted. Despite this she found the strength to place the shield on the ground with the scales faced to the ground.

Kong found his book lying on the ground, it was already wet with water and the cover as flexible as a Gypcero´s tail.. He grabbed the book with tears in his eyes, "My annotations…my research…Noooooooo!" he yelled kneeling on the ground.

"YES! WATER!" Yoru shouted triumphantly as she raised her hands towards the sky.

**(Swamp)**

Derek looked at Wai as they walked towards West, "Wai, do not stop walking." the hunter said firmly.

"Why?" the felyne asked.

"Whatever you do, do NOT stop walking." Derek said looking forward.

"I know, we need to get there as fast…" Wai said as she walked on two legs.

"We are being followed." the hunter said in a carefree tone as if he had said a joke.

Wai, being the curious felyne hybrid she was, stopped and looked back. "But there is no one there, meow!" she said confused.

"Oh by the Gods! Now it knows we are aware of its presence!" Derek put a hand over his face.

"But there is not-…NYAH!" something grabbed Wai and threw her aside.

Derek jumped back and grabbed his greatsword but didn´t see the monster. He looked around and then caught a movement on the right, the scenario had moved slightly as if there was a small distortion in the proportions of the rocks. The hunter spun and made a horizontal slash with his sword to cover as much area as possible but didn´t hit anything. When he was about to raise his greatsword to work as a shield something akin to a whip stroke him in the chest sending him to the ground.

Derek struggled to raise his head, he couldn´t see any monster around but he knew it was close. The raindrops stopped falling on his head and so he looked upwards, he saw the white shade of the monster for a split second.

"I´m done…" the hunter murmured.


	27. King vs Emperor

Derek stood up the fastest he could and ran to the opposite side. He heard footsteps from behind and deduced it was the monster coming after him. The hunter stopped and made a quick turn with his greatsword drawn to make a horizontal slash and catch the monster by surprise. He felt the impact and saw splashes of blood covering his sword as he finished the attack. Derek looked around and saw Wai lying on the ground not too far away so he put the sword on his back and ran after the felyne. Something grabbed his sword and pulled him back so he struggled to get free but whatever was holding him was slowly dragging him away from the fallen cat.

The red armored hunter looked back but saw no monster, he went for the supports on his back that held the greatsword and struggled to reach them while he fought to remain on the same spot. "Ok, the sword is…yours!" Derek managed to detach the sword from his back.

Derek fell on the ground as the sword went flying towards the unseen monster. The blade emitted an explosion of fire the moment it touched the monster´s skin. The creature was caught by surprise and dropped down its cover, revealing its true form.

Derek stood up and looked at the now visible monster, his jaw dropped in disbelief. It was a quadruped creature with light purple skin and a protuberant horn between the eyes, which looked in different directions. He recognized the monster manly because of the eyes and the color, it matched perfectly with the descriptions of a book he read a long time ago.

"A Chameleos?!" he exclaimed.

Chameleos is an elder dragon commonly nicknamed as "The Mist Dragon" and other variants. It has a sticky tongue that can extend for at least its own length and a powerful large tail to repel predators. The crest like head has two large round eyes which, much like normal chameleons, could look at different directions. The dragon is known to be sneaky and extremely hard to spot since it has a camouflage ability that can make it almost completely invisible save from some glimpses of its form as it adapts to the environment. It hunts manly by doing surprise attacks using its powerful tongue and several substances produced by its organs to weaken its victims like poison, corrosive gas and a strange substance that could cause fatigue even on the most energetic hunter.

Chameleos threw the sword aside and charged at the hunter with a greenish smoke coming out of its mouth. Derek looked at the right, where his sword was, and the left where Wai was lying down. His thoughts went back and forth faster than a super Rajang

"_I can get the sword and TRY to fight Chameleos while risking Wai´s life or flee with her, leave the sword behind and continue with the fear that the dragon is chasing me. What do I do? What do I do?" _he thought in just_._

Chameleos stopped running and raised his head upwards charging something inside the mouth. Derek knew that he had to decide now or he would die. He jumped to the right just as a stream of green smoke hit the area he was moments ago. The hunter ran the fastest he could towards the sword as the monster turned to follow him. He jumped forward and grabbed the hilt of the sword as he rolled then made a quick turn to the left as the dragon ran by his side, missing him just by a split second.

Derek placed his sword on his back as he dashed towards Wai, he could hear the dragon approaching every time it stepped on a puddle of water. He grabbed the felyne with both arms and made a quick turn again to avoid the rushing dragon but the dragon was smarter this time and instead of turning to follow the hunter the monster raised his large tail and slammed at the ground with sheer strength. Derek was blown away by the wind and fell down on his back releasing Wai in the process. He tried to get up again but another gust of wind knocked him again and a third one too.

The hunter saw the dragon turning the head to look at him, almost as if intrigued by the small creature. Suddenly Chameleos opened the mouth and launched the sticky tongue out which went after Derek like a whip. The tongue grabbed something in Derek´s belt and pulled it towards the dragon. The dragon had grabbed the smoke bomb that Derek´s guide gave him before and when it made contact with the mouth it exploded with the impact, releasing a thick white fog around the monster´s face that started to grow and cover its entire body.

Derek took the opportunity to grab Wai and run to a safe place. When he thought he was getting away a ray of green gas hit him in the back and he eventually inhaled it. He tried to continue running but after just 10 steps his muscles stiffened, his arms lost strength and his legs felt heavy as rocks. No matter how he tried his legs wouldn´t move and soon he found himself out of breath.

"Don´t tell me *gasps* that its *gasps* the gas." Derek said still holding Wai.

With the smoke gone the dragon charged again but now faster than before. Derek tried to run but it was no use, the gas had completely taken his strength away. He grunted as he grabbed his greatsword with just one hand and tried to lift it but it was too heavy and the tip touched the ground.

"Yoru would have hated this dragon…" he said mustering all his strength to raise the sword and rest it on his shoulder. "One last try…" the hunter prepared a heavenly impact and probably his last one.

A war cry echoed through the swamp.

**(Old Desert)**

Yoru smiled as he finished drinking the water, the rain was starting to diminish and she made sure to drink as much as possible of the precious liquid. She looked back at the mourning wyverian and her smile faded. She went after him and looked at the now destroyed book on his hands.

"You should be more focused on your own life instead of the research." the huntress advised.

Kong looked at the huntress with hatred in his eyes. "My research is lost! I spent all my life writing this book and now it is gone! Gone!" he said showing the wet pages.

"Why didn´t you write a copy?" Yoru asked.

"Because…That is none of your business! If you didn´t provoke the dragon then my book would still be intact!" Kong argued.

Yoru clenched her fist and gritted her teeth. She grabbed the small man by his clothes with one arm and then brought the wyverian closer to her face.

"I fought for two days! TWO DAYS! Against a monster that fought 30 HUNTERS! I almost drowned! She crushed, burned, stomped me! I endured a cold night and survived the heat of the desert! I drank blood to survive! And what do I get?! A stupid wyverian more interested in dragons than the fact there is a near dead huntress in the desert! You didn´t even offer me water or a cold drink! In fact! You drank it in front of me!" Yoru screamed.

Kong cowered in fear and forgot his lost book and research. He tasted the ire of Nightfury and was genuinely afraid she would hurt and possibly kill him. The huntress put the wyverian down with surprisingly caution and looked at the sky, it was still raining.

Yoru turned away from the wyverian as she did her best to contain her anger. "I´m coming back to Kokoto with or without your help. I hope you don´t follow Kushala or else he will kill you. A balloon in the dragon´s territory is just asking to be destroyed." the huntress advised while facing the other side.

A lighting fell upon Kong´s balloon, setting it ablaze. Kong tried to run towards it to rescue as much documents he could but was held back by the strong arm of the huntress.

"Let me go! There are important documents there!" Kong begged but the hand held him in place.

Another lighting hit the balloon´s side, scorching even more the burning vehicle. Yoru looked at the scene with sadness, she knew what the man was suffering but she couldn´t let him go because the chance of another lighting strike him was too high.

"You will die if you go, you can start the research again but you have only one life." the huntress explained.

The huntress heard something besides the rain and the flames, it sounded like a bird screeching in fear. Without a word she threw the wyverian behind her and rushed towards the blazing balloon. She stepped on the platform and searched for the source of the sound but the fire was creating too much noise to distinguish the side it was coming from. The huntress opened box after box but the bird wasn´t in any of them. She threw a box aside in frustration and found a small cage lying on top of another box, inside it there was a scared white bird screeching constantly to get out. The red haired woman grabbed the cage and jumped out of the balloon just as the flames reached the fuel and an explosion engulfed everything.

Yoru sat on the ground, her energy completely drained by all the effort she was putting until now to stay alive. She looked at the cage over her legs and gave a faint smile, "You are safe, my little friend. The flames will no longer scare you…" the huntress collapsed on top of the cage yet her eyes remained open. She was covered in ash and her hair seemed to be black because of it.

The bird scratched the bars of the cage with its claws and the woman understood what it wanted. She moved her hand slowly around the cage, feeling every piece of metal and its form until she finally touched something different. The huntress unlocked the mechanism and opened the small gate with her fingers. The bird took a step forward and then another but then stopped and looked upwards.

"Go…you are free." Yoru said tired.

The bird jumped on top of the bars of the "door" and extended its wings to the sides. It flapped its wings and lift off towards the sky. Kong reached the huntress and watched the bird fly away. He looked at the huntress not believing what she has done.

"That was a messenger bird! It was our only way of asking for a rescue team!" Kong bragged.

Yoru was too much exhausted to see her mistake and answered with eyes closed. "Shut up! I saved your bird…" she said.

**(Old Swamp)**

Derek couldn´t believe his own eyes. A hunter with a longsword had hit Chameleos´s face just in time to save him from the dragon´s charge. The savior wore a bronze armor without the helm and the longsword seemed to imitate a brown halberd.

"Noobs shouldn´t be fighting dragons you know! Leave this to the pros!" the savior said turning his head to face the red armored hunter.

"Ignavus!" Derek exclaimed.

"I´m gonna prove I can kill a dragon! And this time I will bring his ENTIRE BODY to prove!" Ignavus said as he charged at the monster.

The dragon turned invisible and Ignavus missed the hit, Derek limped away from the fight as he looked back. "I´m sorry but I´m not in the condition to help you." he said.

"I don´t need your help! I can solo a dragon!" Ignavus said doing a full spin to cover all the sides but missed again.

The bronze armored hunter saw a splash of water and moved his weapon in a diagonal arch coming from the right. The blade emitted small particles of ice that crystalized on the air and spread around a small area. The hunter moved his arms in an arch to hit the left side and then made a horizontal sweep as he jumped back. The ice crystals disappeared moments later as the dragon adapted to its new appearance.

"I´m not done yet!" Ignavus said grabbing the middle of the blade with his left hand.

Ignavus made quick and short reach attacks, creating more ice shards than the dragon was capable of adapt. He jumped back when he heard something and his senses served him right for a splash of water obstructed his vision. The hunter made several hops to get some distance and that saved is life because the dragon jumped into the air and spewed a cloud of poison where it was standing. Ignavus rubbed his face to clean his eyes.

"You think I will die just because I use Kusha´s armor and you have poison?! You think you have the advantage your gecko?! I will show you who´s in disadvantage!" the hunter provoked showing his middle finger to the invisible dragon.

He charged with his longsword/halberd held vertically at his side. The hunter stopped mid run and made a horizontal sweep to his left, the halberd part of the blade unfolded making the blade slightly longer. The ice cold steel clashed at something, drawing blood as it cut through the dragon´s hide. Ignavus folded the tip of the sword again and used it to block Chameleo´s sticky tongue which froze the tip of the elastic member when it touched the blade. The hunter pulled the sword back with all his might as he struggled with the dragon. Ignavus stomped the ground to get a better footing and grabbed the hilt with both hands to improve his grip.

The hunter moved the sword upwards and spun his entire body as he moved the blade up and down so the tongue could fully envelop around it. When it was everything in place he pressed a button on the hilt and unfolded the blade again, the ice cold steel jerked forward and cut part of the dragon´s tongue. He folded the blade again and appreciated his feat as the dragon moved his head erratically to the sides.

"I´m Ignavus! The dragon hunter!" he shouted to the sky as rain drops fell on his face.

Chameleos faced the hunter with clear hatred as green smoke puffed from his mouth, Ignavus noticed this and smirked as he put his sword on his back. He spun and ran away to the opposite direction Derek was fleeing. "And now I run! Come get me your overgrown lizard! I betcha can´t catch me!" he shouted happily as he fled.

Infuriated the dragon fired a stream of green smoke at the hunter but he dodged to the side and tapped his rear to provoke the dragon even more. Chameleos launched his tongue again but the hunter jumped and landed on top of the elastic member. He grabbed something from his pocket and placed it on the tongue before releasing it. The dragon folded his tongue and when it went back a lighting came from the sky and hit the beast right on the head.

"What´s the problem? A felyne cut your tongue? Oh no it was me! Hahahaha! You can´t hit me! You are a coward noob! You can´t hunt a vespoid!..." Ignavus danced in front of the dragon as the beast felt dizzy after the sudden shock attack.

"You can´t even fully become invisible! Your mom so fat that it makes Yamatsu look like a model!" the hunter moved his arms in a wave motion as he provoked even more the stunned dragon.

Derek made a pause to catch his breath, he looked back to see if the dragon was behind him but then remembered that the beast could turn invisible. With a grunt he pressed forward with Wai still unconscious in his arms.

"I should have brought an energy drink or mega juice…" the hunter murmured under his breath.

An aptonoth walked past him and the hunter considered killing the beast to eat its flesh and recover some energy but then he remembered he hadn´t a BBQ kit and it was raining.

"Yoru would certainly know what to do." Derek said making another pause.

**(Old Desert)**

Yoru walked alongside Kong as they traveled through the desert in search of shelter for the night. Yoru had strapped the greatshield on her left arm, the longsword on her back and the twin swords on her belt. They walked in silence, the huntress focused on the surroundings and the wyverian on the huntress. The rain had stopped some time ago but the sand was still wet and more dense than normal, facilitating the journey.

"Hey Kong! What do you know about dragons?" Yoru asked to distract herself.

"What do you want to know?" Kong asked.

"What kind of relationship they have with each other?" she asked looking back to see if the Black Rathian was really dead.

"They´re very territorial and I never heard or read of any encounters of two or more dragons. Well…except for Lunastra and Teostra, they´re mates but we never see them together in the same area for long. Our theory is that each dragon respects each other´s territory and avoid conflict if possible." the wyverian answered after some thought.

"Hm...what you know about Kushala?" the huntress asked rubbing her chin.

"He controls storms and is generally surrounded by them, he´s one of the dragons that tends to attack towns and villages. I´m still surprised he left us alone." Kong said grabbing a slightly dry cloth from his pocket and cleaning his tears with it.

"Not the first time." Yoru said casually.

"What do you mean?" the elder asked putting the cloth back in his pocket.

"I met Kushala before when I was wandering in the Old Swamp at night. He was sleeping inside a cave, the same cave I decided to use to rest." Yoru sighed.

"Really? Tell me more!" Kong said, his good humor returning at the idea of discovering something new.

Yoru smiled to herself, her plan worked as intended.

**(Old Swamp)**

Derek crouched behind a rock with Wai on his arms. He managed to overcome the fatigue effect minutes ago and he thanked the Gods for it because he couldn´t afford to make any noise now. A Chameleos lurking around was a big enough problem but what he saw made him think if the dragons were after his head. Just a few meters away, Teostra was walking casually without any idea of the presence of the hunter.

Teostra is a red fire dragon with the head similar to a lion, two large wings and a tail with a reddish fur on the tip. This monster is one of the most aggressive elder dragons and master of fire and flames. Legends and rumors tell that his crown like horn is the source of its power but no one could prove it until now. The creature´s power isn´t the only fearsome trait, the beast´s legs are powerful and capable of jumping across large distances.

"_And what´s next? Lunastra and her sons?!"_ Derek thought behind his cover. "_The Hunting Guild needs to classify this as a high rank area. Kushala, Chameleos and Teostra are too dangerous to any 3 stars hunter." _he thought.

Derek felt the felyne in his arms moving her legs and stretching her arms. Before he could do something Wai spoke aloud in a tired tone:

"Meow! Is it morning yet?" the felyne asked.

Derek covered the felyne´s mouth and spied from behind the rock. Teostra had stopped and was now looking around for the source of the sound. Meanwhile Wai was squirming since Derek´s hand was covering her mouth and nose. She scratched Derek´s arm but the man didn´t even flinch since his armor protected his skin from the sharp claws of the cat. Desperate for air Wai furiously kicked her legs in an attempt to strike Derek´s belly.

The red armored hunter grunted when he felt a strong kick in his stomach, the sound alerted the dragon which spread his wings wide and waved then a bit up and down several times. Yellow sparks floated from his body and spread across the area in a full circle. Derek watched as the sparks slowly floated at his direction. He only realized what the dragon was doing a split second before it happened, he curled himself around Wai and closed his eyes tightly just as the sparks ignited and created an explosion around him.

Cinders floated down to the ground as the smoke dissipated. Derek fought the urge to cough but unfortunately Wai did it loud enough to be heard by the dragon. Teostra made a quick turn, stood on his hind legs and roared at the top of his lungs. Wai covered her ears with her pawns as she screamed in agony, felynes had better hearing than humans which meant they suffered more with roars, explosions and other loud noises.

Derek released the felyne and tried to stand up but his legs failed and he used his hands to avoid falling down. The scales of his armors were damaged and the tips were cracking. His armor was resistant against fire but not enough to fully resist the dragon´s fire, he doubted the material would last more than three explosions like this one.

"Wai, run! He won´t follow you...!" Derek ordered.

The felyne was paralyzed on her spot, her eyes were wide open and her mouth trembled as if she had just taken a cold bath. Derek noticed the large shadow cast on the ground and looked back over his shoulder. On top of the rock Teostra was standing tall with the wings folded on his back. The dragon reared his head back and then breathed a stream of fire at the red armored hunter.

"Nyah!" Wai screamed as she ran away from the horrible scene, the dragon didn´t even bother to move his eyes.

Derek screamed in pain as the flames scorched his armor and damaged the finely forged Rathalos´s scales. He moved his hands towards the greatsword on his back and grabbed the hilt of the massive weapon. The metal part of the armor was starting to get too hot to be comfortable, even with the scales underneath to act as a shield from fire attacks. With a savage shout the hunter stood up as he drew his sword, he made a quick turn as he turned his head to the side to avoid the flames passing through the holes in his helm. He moved the sword into a diagonal position in front of him and walked forward. Step by step Derek got closer to the rock Teostra was standing.

Noticing the insistent hunter Teostra increased the intensity of the flames, pushing Derek back as he struggled to keep the sword between him and the flames. The blade wasn´t big enough to fully cover his body and manly his legs were left unprotected. Due to preparation, however, the gauntlets and leggings were slightly more protective than the mail due to the constant danger of a monster biting his legs to drag him away or his arms in order to paralyze him.

Derek noticed he was slowly losing ground and so created a plan to get the dragon by surprise. He concentrated his attention on the muscles of his legs and felt that they could still move swiftly. The hunter jumped to the side, out of the flames reach and charged at the monster with his greatsword held with both hands. Before the dragon could move his head to the side the red armored man moved his sword in an horizontal sweep aimed at the dragon´s face. The blade created a fiery explosion as it made contact with the dragon´s skin, jerking the creature´s head to the side.

Teostra stopped his fire breath and jumped forward and over Derek´s head. The hunter turned to face the dragon but kneeled when his strength faltered. His leggings and gauntlets were charred and part of his mail was pitch black while the rest was still red. He watched the dragon roar once, twice and then jump over him. The ancient beast stood over him using one of the frontal legs to pin him down so he couldn´t escape.

"I dreamed of fighting Crimson Fatalis and I get Teostra instead." Derek said depressed.

Smoke came out of Teostra´s mouth as he prepared the finishing move. Derek smiled under his helm.

"Sorry Teo, but I don´t plan to die today." Derek said sincerely as he grabbed the sword by his side and swung at the dragon´s head with just one hand.

Not only the blade knocked Teostra´s head aside just as he breathed fire but the tip of the blade pierced the dragon´s pawn, locking it down. Teostra snarled as he gave a step back releasing the hunter underneath him. Derek quickly got on his feet and took off the sword from the dragon´s pawn, with a vertical swing he hit the dragon´s chin and then brought the weapon down hitting the crown-like-horn. He repeated the technique again and then spun with the blade held sideways. The idea was to use the blunt side of the sword to hit the dragon´s face in a poor and improvised imitation of a hammer technique. The hunter knew he couldn´t easily cut the beast´s face so he tried to knock the dragon out long enough for him to escape.

The greatsword hit once, twice, thrice and then Derek moved the sword a bit lower to imitate the hammer technique "Rock Thrower" with the blunt part of the weapon but not low enough to scratch the ground. Taking advantage of the momentum he spun again and did the attack again and again until he stopped with the sword held at his side. Then he held the sword on his left before doing the same thing again. Teostra recovered from the chain of attacks with alarming speed and jumped back flapping his wings to increase the distance even further.

Once in the ground Teostra walked towards Derek then started to run and in just two steps was at full speed. The hunter prepared an upward slash but the dragon jumped over him and out of the blade´s reach. Expecting the jump Derek allowed the sword to hit the ground behind him and quickly grabbed the hilt with both hands as the fire dragon landed behind him. With a fast charge he made an horizontal sweep and hit the dragon´s face with so much power that the dragon was knocked out to the ground instantly. Derek sheathed the sword quickly and looked around for the nearest group of trees. He spotted a wall of stone not too far away with a large circular opening, maybe it was a cave or just a crater in the rock but he hadn´t time to think so he went for it.

The hunter reached the wall as the dragon shook his head to the sides to regain focus. Derek was glad that it was a genuine cave with a very large area inside but instead of going further he hid behind a small cavity at the side of the cave´s entrance and did the best he could to remain hidden behind it, sticking his arms together with his body. He held his breath when he heard the water splashes from outside as the dragon came near. Teostra jumped inside the cave with a furious roar but Derek remained quiet and still in his position. The dragon´s hind legs were just by his side and a simple wave of the tail or a look to the side would reveal his position. He prayed for the plan to work and waited for the beast´s next movement.

Realizing that the hunter wasn´t there Teostra walked further inside the cave in search of the intruder of his territory. It was a cold cave with a high ceiling that occasionally dripped water, the walls were made of black rock with sharp protuberances that could hurt someone if this person decided to rest his/her back on it. At the other side of the cold area existed a passage to another deeper part of the cave and it was exactly this place that the dragon turned his attention. Teostra roared as he stood on his hind legs and then landed, a red aura of flames covered his body acting as some sort of shield against the cold temperature. Derek sweated at the intense heat but the drops of sweat mixed with the ones produced in the cave so the dragon didn´t notice him. The dragon, now prepared against the cold of the cave, charged forward creating many splashes of water as he went to the other side of the cave. Derek took advantage of the noise caused by the dragon and easily sneaked out of the cave unharmed.

"_Quite a story to tell when I come back_." Derek thought as he ran away from the cave.

**(5 days later)**

Yoru rubbed her eyes, the day had been long and exhaustive but at least they managed to find some shelter for the night. They had reached a passage through two great walls of stone covered by sand. The rock formation would protect them from the cold winds of the night and cover their presence from large monsters. The bad thing was that there could be a pack of genprey lurking around and that was the last thing the huntress wanted.

"I can´t believe we survived 5 days on the desert." Kong said sitting close to a wall of stone. "It is so good to rest the legs…If I drink blood again I´m going to puke." the wyverian claimed as he rested his head on the wall.

"It could be worse. If we were on the swamp we wouldn´t easily find drinkable water and the most common monsters are poisonous so we can´t eat their flesh. Cephalos´s meat isn't that bad." Yoru said resting at the opposite wall. "You should be glad I´m able to kill those monsters in my current state. Once I return to Kokoto I will sleep for two days straight after a good meal." the huntress said with a smile.

"Do you think we will make it through? We were pretty far from the Swamp when we first met..." Kong stated sleepy.

"We WILL…" Yoru stopped when she saw Kong asleep.

The huntress stood up and stumbled her way towards the small man. "Gods…please don´t do this to me." she murmured kneeling in front of the wyverian. "Kong?" she asked softly.

No answer, Yoru called again this time louder than before but Kong remained asleep. She slapped his face with the back of her hand and the man awoke with eyes wide open:

"Wh-what?!" Kong asked desperately.

"Don´t scare me like that! I thought you were dead!" she said irritated.

"I´m not! Let me get some sleep, by the gods…" Kong said as he closed his eyes.

**(Later)**

The sun was burning brightly on the sky. The morning came hours ago but two figures were still sleeping under the protection of two large walls of stone. Three pairs of legs stomped the sand as their owners approached the rock formation for shelter. Three hunters walked with their backs arched forward, clearly drained by the sun´s heat. The first was a man wearing a common iron armor with some pieces of leather on the waist, shoulder and mail, the second was a woman using brown-yellow armor with a small cap on the head and the third was a man wearing a red armor that covered his entire body except for the eyes. The shoulder pads were large and the torso was robust compared to the rest of the armor. All of them had large backpacks on their backs filled with so much content that part of it was sticking out of the backpack.

"Can we rest a bit? We´ve been walking for hours!" the huntress bragged rubbing her forehead.

The red armored man grunted something, "Fine…There! No one will find us at that rock formation!" the man pointed to the area Yoru was sleeping.

"Are you sure? We got into a lot of trouble getting our treasure, if someone else finds it…" the plate armored hunter said worried.

"We are in the middle of the ***** desert! How do you expect someone to be here?!" the red armored hunter bragged.

"We are here." the other hunter retorted seemingly oblivious to the rhetoric question.

"Come on guys! I want to take off my boots as soon as possible!" the huntress called, she was a good deal of distance ahead of the others.

**Notes**

**Theoretically Derek had a better chance against Chameleos than Ignavus since the dragon is weaker against fire and resistant against ice but he felt that Wai´s life was more important. Derek´s fight with Teostra was short because he knew he wouldn´t stand a chance against a fast dragon that is practically immune to fire. The point is to show Derek´s strategy and not his strength.**

**When Ignavus grabbed the middle of the sword with the left hand he was using a real technique called "half sword". The idea is to use fast trusts to penetrate the weak points of the opponent´s armor since slashes were rather ineffective against plate armor. In this scenario Chameleos has very hard scales on his sides and tail so it was very easy for him to hit the wrong spot and bounce his weapon. **


	28. Ghosts of the past

"GAH!" Youru screamed as she was thrown at the rock wall. She slid down and fell on the ground. "Always when I´m weak…this is getting annoying." she said.

The plate armored hunter stepped forward and kicked the huntress in the stomach. "How do you dare take this sword! You murderer!" he said kicking again.

"Murderer?! You are the one kicking me!" Yoru grabbed the foot with both hands but received a punch in the face instead.

"You killed Nightfury!" the plate armored man said kicking the huntress again.

Yoru fell to the side, her vision was blurred and her body numb but then her hand grasped the hilt of the longsword and she found part of her strength returning.

"I am…Nightfury!" Yoru said with little strength she still had.

"You´re not! Nightfury is a man!" the hunter answered kicking Yoru as she tried to stand up.

The other hunters watched the scene in silence with arms crossed, they were quite surprised the woman didn´t ask them to stop their friend or to show mercy.

"I…found his sword…in the desert." Yoru coughed blood.

"LIAR!" the plate armored hunter shouted preparing to hit again.

"I did…NOT kill him!" Yoru said but got kicked to the side.

Yoru rolled twice until she laid on her back. Despite the insults and injuries she didn´t want to hurt this man, he seemed furious that Nightfury was dead. She knew what he was feeling and so used all her will to not get angry at him but she had to convince them she was telling the truth. The hunter approached as he drew a sword from his back, it was a common sword yet very sharp and polished. He pointed the blade at Yoru´s neck

"Any last words?" the hunter asked.

The huntress looked rebelliously at the man, if it was her time to die then she had to honor her parents one last time. If it weren´t for them she wouldn´t have reached this far. "I´m Yoru Aruna Yukuna! Daughter of Paul Dageki and Kia Yukuna! Nightfury of Kokoto!" Yoru shouted with everything she had.

The Sun shined behind the hunter, Yoru could only see his outline as only his back was illuminated. The hunter´s sword fell to the ground, the others had their jaws dropped and were shaking their heads not believing what they just heard. Yoru´s consciousness was fading and even the bright light of the Sun was becoming rapidly dark.

The plate armored hunter kneeled on the sand in front of Yoru, "It can´t be…You are…" the man said but Yoru fell unconscious before she could hear the rest.

**(Old Swamp)**

Wai looked around fearful that some creature would attack her. It would take three or more days to reach the Desert and she lost contact with Derek when the dragon appeared. She judged the man as dead, he was surely burned to ashes by the dragon´s fire. Now her only hope was to find Nightfury.

A dark shadow sneaked behind the oblivious felyne. It walked slowly and careful to avoid any kind of noise or puddles on the ground. Something grabbed Wai by her shoulder and before she could do anything she was lifted into the air.

"How Elvis managed to sneak your entire people through the forest and jungle?! It is easier to steal a Rathalos´s egg with both parents behind me and that happened in the past. " Derek said turning the felyne to face him.

Wai widened her eyes, Derek´s armor was almost completely charred black with the exception of the frontal part of the helm and a diagonal stripe on his mail where the metal was only slightly darker than normal.

"Derek?!" Wai asked surprised.

"Yes, a king robed in cinders I guess…" the hunter looked down at his armor and then back to the felyne. "Now, when we get back no more missions until you learn how to sneak and be quiet, understood?" he demaded.

"Meow! You are not angry at me?" Wai asked.

"I´m pissed!" Derek said furious and Wai cowered in fear. "But we have more important things to worry about…" he stopped when he heard a growling noise.

"I´m hungry…." Wai mumbled holding her stomach.

Derek hung his head down, maybe it was a bad idea to let the felyne follow him.

**(Desert)**

Yoru heard flames popping and a warm sensation over her body, she had a strong headache and the heat was only making her pain worse. Remembering the last time she felt like this she prepared herself for the worst.

"Don´t tell me you are still alive…I killed you, twice." the huntress said with eyes closed.

"I think you hit her too hard." an unknown male voice said.

"I didn´t, she´s just dreaming." another voice answered, it belonged to the hunter that hit Yoru.

"I´m not dreaming your pile of wyvern´s dung." Yoru said opening her eyes.

There was a small bonfire in the ground surrounded by rocks and filled with small sticks of wood. Four sticks with chunks of meat were cooking at the borders of the bonfire and the red armored hunter was turning one of them in order to cook the other side. Yoru looked around and saw the plate armored hunter pouring a white liquid into a flask, the other huntress was checking a backpack at the other side close to the wall. The plate armored hunter approached Yoru with the flask in hand:

"I´m…I´m sorry about what I did to you." the middle aged hunter offered the cool drink.

"At least you didn´t drink in front of me…Wait! Where is Kong?" Yoru looked around desperately.

"Dead…I presume he perished during the night." the man shook his head to the sides.

Yoru punched the wall but it hurt a lot so she grabbed her hand with her other one. "Dam it! I promised yesterday we would survive this!" the huntress said as tears fell from her face.

"Sorry for your friend." the man said quietly.

"Friend? He was just someone I met days ago, but even still…!" Yoru said covering her face.

Yoru was frustrated, frustrated because she allowed another person to die. Even though Kong was a complete stranger she still wanted him to live, after all wyverians have long lifespans and even though he was old as a dragon he could enjoy at least another 100 years with his family. She should have hugged him during the night to offer some kind of heat but she was too much exhausted to even think about it.

"You should drink this or you´re going to die. We are preparing some food for you meanwhile." the plate armored hunter offered the cool drink again.

"Tell me your name." Yoru ordered grabbing the flask.

"Ian." the man answered. "And they are Hermes and Gwen." Ian pointed to the others, they waved back before resuming their duties. "We knew your father, let´s say we were…friends." he said hesitantly.

"He never talked about you." Yoru said suspicious, she looked down at the flask and doubted it was poisoned.

"We lost contact years ago. If you don´t believe I will tell you this: He hated to catch fish and loved to use bulfango´s pelts as clothes." Ian said.

The huntress smiled, he was telling the truth. Yoru drank the cold liquid and immediately felt relieved. The thirsty taken care of all she needed now was good food. In the end she was glad she didn´t hit them or they could be less generous. The huntress looked at Hermes which was looking at the cooking meat.

"How´s Paul doing?" Ian asked and Yoru looked at him with a confused look.

"My father? You don´t know?" Yoru asked and Ian shook his head. "He´s dead. A Rathian killed him." she said looking down.

"What?!" the other three hunters exclaimed at the same time.

"But he was the best hunter amongst our group!" Ian said not believing. "Tell us where this beast is and we will avenge your father!" he said crackling his fists.

Gwen was at the other side with her back turned to the group, Yoru heard a quiet sobbing coming from the huntress. Gwen sniffled and mumbled something but it wasn´t clear what she was talking.

"You don´t have to worry, I killed the Black Rathian." Yoru said dismissing the hunters´s claims of fighting the beast.

"Black Rathian? Are you sure it wasn´t just a normal Rathian in the night and you got confused?" Ian asked.

"IT WAS A BLACK RATHIAN!"Yoru insisted.

"Meh…she inherited his temper as well. " Hermes said looking away.

"MY FATHER WASN´T AN ANGRY PERSON! He was nice, a guardian and honorable!" Yoru tried to stand up but failed, her body still needed some time to recover.

Hermes shrugged, "Nah…he wasn´t like this. In fact, he was the opposite when we were…"

"Enough!" Ian shouted. "We discussed this before! We´re not going to talk about this EVER AGAIN!" he commanded but Hermes just stared blankly at him.

"She´s his daughter, she needs to know." Hermes said pointing to Yoru.

"What you are talking about?" Yoru asked looking at Ian.

Ian sighed, how could he explain the whole thing? He stood up and walked to the sides rubbing his head anxious and worried about Yoru´s reaction. He sighed, Hermes was right, she deserved to know the truth but first he needed to know how much the huntress knew.

"I will tell you what we know but first I must ask some question so we don´t waste time, is that ok?" Ian asked.

"I have to wait for the meat anyway." Yoru shrugged.

"How did you get this sword?" Ian asked pointing to the sword by the huntress´s side.

"This?" Yoru grunted when she lifted the sword in a vertical position at her side. With her remaining strength she could only lift and drag the sword and nothing more.

Ian and Hermes looked astonished at the scene as if the simple feat of holding the sword was something rare like a wyvern´s jewel.

"I found this inside a cave on this very desert. It belonged to the hunter Nightfury, protector of a group of felynes. The felynes say that only Nightfury could use it effectively in combat without getting too tired. I trained for months until I had the strength to use it in jobs and when that happened the felynes bestowed the title to me." Yoru told looking at the rusted blade.

After recovering from the surprise Ian rubbed his chin and analyzed the story, he closed his eyes in deep thought. "What about the previous Nightfury?" he asked.

"I don´t know, I didn´t find his body. The felyne chief says he disappeared years ago to kill a Rathian and I found the sword last year. I guess his body was buried under the sand." Yoru answered.

Hermes looked a Yoru, "You´re not the smartest person, are you?" he asked indifferent.

"You little piece of hermitaur piss!" Yoru said but Hermes turned his attention to the meat without any worry.

Ian cleared his throat, "Don´t mind Hermes, he doesn´t care for many things. Next question: How did your father die?" he asked.

"I was watching a lake close to our house when that happened, it is a very hard place to reach but I know my way around. We lived in a small house in the Old Jungle. As I was saying, I was watching the lake when I heard a roar coming from behind. I rushed to my house and found it engulfed in blue flames and my father dying on the ground. The Black Rathian is the only monster that can breathe blue fire. She was the responsible for my father´s death and so I vowed to kill her. That´s why I became a huntress and that´s why I´m here in the desert." Yoru said.

"Let´s say this Black Rathian is real…" Ian started but the huntress interrupted.

"She is real! I killed her five days ago!" Yoru argued.

"…If this Rathian lives on the forest why would you be here and not in the jungle?" the hunter finished the question.

"We fought in the jungle then in the Swamp and finally at the desert. Two days fighting that beast and I was…" Yoru stopped, should she reveal the last part of the battle? Ian was having a hard time believing in a Black Rathian, if she told him that the beast was intelligent then he surely wouldn´t believe her. "I was mauled, stomped, crushed and barely made it through." she finished.

"Stupid!" Hermes shouted but received a hateful glare from Yoru and shut up.

"What happened to your left eye?" Ian asked trying to touch Yoru´s face.

"It doesn´t matter, tell me what you know about my father that it is so important." Yoru said moving Ian´s hand away.

"Short version or long version?" Ian asked.

"Short first and then the long one." the huntress answered.

Hermes stood up and walked towards the huntress with a stick of cooked meat. He offered it to Yoru who refused at first but then accepted since she was literally starving.

"Your father is Nightfury." Hermes said and then quickly returned to his bonfire just as Yoru gave the second bite.

Yoru stopped munching for a second, her face frozen in time as her mind processed the information. Then she spited the meat on Ian much to his disgust.

"My father is WHAT?!" Yoru shouted.

Ian turned to face Hermes which was still cooking the rest of the meat. "Hermes! You´re going to clean this you hear me?!" the hunter bragged looking at the mess that Yoru made on his leggings. The meat was wet and nothing more than a bunch of pinkish brown material.

Gwen rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and then turned to face the rest of the hunters, her makeup was messed up by her crying and the black ink stained her face as if she had cried dark tears. "Your father, Paul…*sobs*…we were part of a large group. We both…we were very close back then and I always wanted…" Gwen started crying again.

"Why I hang with you guys anyway? Geez..." Ian rubbed his head. "Gwen loved your father, I think they were dating at some point, that´s why she´s like this." he explained.

Yoru observed the crying huntress and felt sad for her. The red haired woman made an effort to stand up despise Ian´s protests that she should rest and went to the kneeling woman. Yoru extended her arm down, offering the bitten piece of meat to Gwen. The crying huntress looked upwards, first to the meat and then to the huntress. She saw the hunter she once loved in Yoru´s face but also a strange kindness that she never saw before.

The red haired woman smiled to Gwen, "I know how you feel, your pain, the sadness, longing, regrets, loneliness despite your friends…I know how you feel, because I too felt like this when he died. Come, eat this." Yoru tilted the meat to the side.

"No, you need it more than me…" Gwen pushed the meat back and looked at the side.

"I might be starving but you need it too. I´m Nightfury and I´m here to help you." Yoru said confident.

Gwen shook her head. "Paul got this nickname a week before we went to different paths…He was furious at night, drinking more than he should, cursing around drunk as he was *sobs*…shouting at everyone and fighting everyone. He almost strangled me…" Gwen covered her face as she cried.

"My father would never do this!" Yoru said looking back at Ian.

Hermes grabbed a stick of meat that he judged was ready to be eaten. "Your father was an angry, uncontrollable, rampaging man." he said taking off his helmet.

Yoru´s eyes widened when she saw Herme´s face. There were large scars on both of his cheeks and his nose was angled down, probably broken by a powerful punch. The tip of the left ear was missing and the man´s head was bald with several scars and marks of severe burning making the flesh more red than normal.

Ian sighed profoundly, he felt sorry that his friend had to show his face like this.

"I tried to save Gwen and he did this to me. He also broke two ribs and my leg, my stomach is full of scars as well. I almost died that night. That´s when we called him Nightfury, a man so furious during the night that no one dared to provoke him." Hermes told.

"You are lying!" Yoru shouted going after Hermes but Ian stepped forward and stood between them with arms extended to the sides. "Move aside Rat Ian!" the huntress gritted her teeth.

"Rat Ian? Is that supposed to be a pun?" Hermes commented munching his food.

Ian stared at Yoru, "People change Yoru. Hermes is telling the truth, your father was everything he said but he wasn´t always like this. He was only like this when we called him Nightfury, a day we will never forget…" Ian said calmly.

Yoru punched Ian straight in the face, sending the man to the ground. She stood over his body and with a dark look in her eyes stomped his stomach four times before she kicked him aside. Ian rolled once and then rested on his back. Hermes was going to interrupt the beating when Ian extended his hand forward as he grunted in pain.

"No Hermes, I deserved that *gasps*. You are stronger than I thought…." Ian said holding his belly.

"I have to be strong to protect my friends and Kokoto." Yoru said bitter.

"Kokoto? Now you live in Kokoto? How they allowed you to stay?" Ian asked but immediately covered his mouth.

"Her surname, they used her mother´s surname." Hermes answered careless.

Ian coughed, "I see…" he said going into a sitting position. "You want to hear about your father´s past?" the hunter asked looking upwards.

Yoru closed her eyes, "I know what I need to know about my father. I don´t want to hear any lies about his personality." the huntress answered.

Hermes swore, he was so distracted with the conversation that he didn´t pay attention to the meat. The result was a crisped piece of meat with doubtful effects.

"You own me a meal!" Hermes warned.

Yoru threw her piece of meat at Hermes, the stick spun twice and then hit him right in the face. The hunter fell down on his back, splattering the sand underneath him.

"Definitively his daughter…" Hermes mumbled grabbing the stick and taking a bite.

The red haired woman looked back at Ian. "Seriously, you expect me to hear a stranger say bad things about my father?" she asked.

"I´m no liar, never was, never will." Ian answered standing up.

"Right, we were just a bunch of thieves." Hermes said after gulping down.

"Gods curse you Hermes!" Ian shouted.

The hunter looked at Yoru and cringed, her eyes were filled with so much hatred that the pupils were almost shaking by their own.

"You know…" the huntress said with poison in her words, "…I have bad experiences with thieves. Especially when they try to steal MY sword…" she said grabbing the longsword from the ground.

Gwen and Hermes rushed to Ian´s side with their weapons drawn, Hermes wielded two swords, one red and one blue, both made from carapaceons´s materials. Gwen used a light yellow sword and shield, both covered with genprey´s scales. Yoru faced them with sword lowered.

"You all bring back bad memories, I HATE THAT!" Yoru shouted. "You remind me of Rick´s stupidity! You remind me of my parents´ deaths! AND YOU! GWENDROME, even your freaking name!" Yoru pointed to each hunter. "AND ABOVE EVERYTHING! You were thieves! THEY ALL STOLE SOMETHING FROM ME!" she raised her sword.

Hermes lowered his swords, "Nightfury, a man so furious during the night that no one dared to provoke him." he repeated the definition.

Yoru felt a huge headache, she held her head with her left hand. The huntress groaned and mumbled as she turned to face the other way.

"What is happening to her?" Ian asked.

"Mental breakdown, probably." Gwen answered.

"I´m not Night´s Fury, I´m not Yoru´s Fury…" Yoru said seemingly more controlled. She lowered her arms and took a deep breath as she relaxed her muscles. "Sorry…I still have trouble fighting this…urge, this hatred." she said looking upwards. "I thought it would be gone with the Rathian´s death but…" she turned to face the hunters, her face calm as the breeze, "…it looks like I still have these anger issues." the huntress looked at her hand. "Forgive me…".

Ian looked at his friends, they all had a single question in their mind: "_Is she crazy?"_

Yoru sat on the ground, left the sword by her side and placed her hand on her forehand. "Look, I appreciate you saving me but if you keep touching these subjects I might snap and hurt you. " Yoru said rubbing her head.

The hunters sheathed their weapons but still kept their distance, the red haired huntress looked at them with sadness. "You´re afraid of me, aren´t you? You think I will hurt you…" she said.

"Yeah…" Hermes answered.

"Hermes!" Ian warned.

"No…I understand…I try to act like a hero, I really do…but I´m not one. I call myself Nightfury but I´m not him, I´m just a barrel ready to explode. But more like a large barrel bomb, I only explode when people provoke me." Yoru said looking down.

Gwen felt sorry for the huntress, only now she realized why the red haired woman was so angry with them. Their very own presence was making her angry, because something about each one reminded of a tragic memory. She didn´t know who this Rick was, but she knew deep in her heart that it was a close friend and the Rathian-Ian was an obvious one. Only the Gendrome reference she didn´t understand, what could a "drome" possibly do to cause such trauma…?

"_They all stole something from me!" _Yoru´s words echoed in Gwen´s mind. She made a small scream when she noticed the other huntress staring at her, only the white lifeless eye was visible from her position.

Yoru turned her head a bit more to the left so she could see Gwen with her good eye. "It is my eye, isn´t it?" she asked and Gwen nodded. "Gendrome." Yoru said standing up and stretching her back. "Your armor is made of genprey materials, I suggest you to not try to fight one with just a shield without using a helm. Speaking of which, your hat is useless." Yoru commented pointing to Gwen.

"Hey!" Gwen shouted, "This hat was made by…!" Ian covered Gwen´s mouth and walked in front of them.

"Do you want to get us killed?!" he whispered. "We shouldn´t speak of parents and Rathians while she is around or she might kill us!" he warned still in low voice.

"I heard that." Yoru said looking at the sky.

Ian cringed in fear and made a quick turn to face a possible threat only to find a calm huntress a good distance away.

"I will restrain myself since you saved me and I won´t attack you just because you mentioned your parents, they should be respected after all. But I want to make one thing clear: The memories I have with my parents are the only thing that still remains from my past. Don´t taint them with stories of a time when my father was another man." Yoru said loud.

"I won´t promise anything." Hermes said shrugging and receive a cold glare from Yoru. "I got my share of wounds, I can´t just ignore the fact he almost killed me." he explained.

Gwen mentally agreed with her friend, it was impossible to forget those terrible days. "_Hermes has no friends besides us and he never got a girlfriend because of the scars." _she thought sadly.

Ian decided to interrupt before things get worse again. "Hermes, if you keep your mouth shut for the rest of the trip I swear to the Gods I will buy you a complete meal with cheese and GoldenFish Brew." he said.

Gwen looked at Ian with eyes widened. Ian was willing to buy a 400 zen dish just to keep Hermes´s silent? That was one of the most expensive meals on the entire continent! Of course, if Yoru loses her mind then they are dead. She knew the huntress was strong enough to lift the sword even in her weakened state which means that she is more than capable of shrugging them off should they even try to immobilize her. She was young and they all were around 50 years old, definitively not in their prime.

Hermes pondered for a while, "Not good enough." he answered.

Ian´s mouth fell, how could he deny such offer?! "Two meals!" he suggested but the heavily armored hunter shook his head to the sides. "Four Meals!" he insisted and his friend still denied. "Five Meals!" he said showing five fingers.

"You will have to sell the prize to get the money. Fine…I will keep my mouth shut." Hermes sighed.

Yoru raised her brow, "Prize?" she asked suspicious. "_Are they trying to arrest me?_" the huntress thought.

Gwen panicked, Ian had talked too much and now the huntress was suspicious. She gave a forced smile as she looked at the other woman. "Uh…The prize, I mean the payment, no! I mean the reward for the quest. Yes! He´s going to use the payment, I mean the reward to pay the food." Gwen said in a fast pace.

Yoru narrowed her eyes as she looked at each one of them. "I´m judging you are no longer "thieves" so tell me…what kind of quest are you doing?" she asked.

"Treasure hunting." Hermes answered.

"HERMES FOR THE LOVE OF THE GODS! You WON´T get the meals!" Ian shouted.

Hermes sighed profoundly, he moved his neck to the right, then to the left and then upwards. "That´s a shame…I really wanted those meals." he said looking upwards.

Gwen trembled, "It is not what it seems!" she tried to justify waving her hands. "It is an official quest! Really!".

"I never heard of these "treasure hunting" quests in Kokoto." Yoru said bitter.

Ian sweat dropped, "Uh, maybe because there isn´t this kind of job in Kokoto. Bu-but it really is an official job, not from the Guild but it is legal!" the man gulped.

"Who you are working for?" Yoru said coldly.

"Treshi." Hermes answered.

"Trash." Yoru said spitting on the ground.

Ian nodded, "Yes! So you must know him…" Ian stopped when he heard Hermes giggling. "What´s so funny?" he asked.

"She said T-R-A-S-H not T-R-E-S-H-I." the red armored man covered his mouth to stop giggling.

Yoru´s expression was dark as the night, she remained still with eyes fixed on Hermes. The hungry man noticed this and stopped giggling, they changed stares like two predators ready to jump at each other. Feeling the need to explain things Gwen stepped in front of Hermes with arms stretched.

"He´s the one in charge of the tr-treasure hunting quests. We bring treasures to him and he give us p-part of the money. Nothing stole-stolen of course!" Gwen explained.

"What kind of treasures?" Yoru asked as she grabbed her sword.

Hermes cleared his throat, "Ores, Ancient Stones, jewels, gold, rare artefacts, skulls from important people…" he counted his fingers.

Ian tried to cover Hermes´s mouth but the bulky man simply held him at bay with one of his arms. Gwen tried to stop him but was also pushed away by the bigger hunter´s arm.

"…Medicinal herbs, decorative flowers, mushrooms, special types of monster meat. Oh yeah Daimyo legs…" Hermes licked his lips.

"You gather people´s skulls?" the huntress asked menacingly as she approached.

Ian took a step back from Hermes and faced Yoru, "We recover them, so they can receive the proper rituals." he explained.

"And sometimes we use them to make sturdy helms…I mean, the monster skulls." Hermes added a second later.

Yoru continued walking forward, she stopped by Hermes´s side, "Ok, you are redeemed thieves. I can live with that…" she said aloud while looking at Hermes which just stared back with a serious expression.

"Since I won´t get the meals, I might as well ask something about your family." he said.

"You want to know about my family? Yoru asked surprised.

Ian and Gwen were confused, Hermes rarely had any interest in anything but food and treasure quests. What could be so important to catch his attention?

Hermes took a step back and stared at Yoru with a frown, the huntress looked back with a confused look as the man examined her face, her eyes, ears, nose and lips. He rubbed his chin and then closed his eyes in deep reflection. Hermes opened his eyes again and looked down at Yoru´s hands, legs and then feet before going back to the vibrant red hair. Something was bugging his mind but he couldn´t make a decision.

"I know I´m wearing destroyed armor and I´m all beaten up but what you want to ask? I´m going to toast if I stay here any longer." Yoru complained.

"How old are you?" Hermes suddenly asked.

"18 years old…I think." Yoru answered unsure.

"You think?" Ian and Gwen asked.

"Well…I lost part of my memory when I nearly died a year ago. Sometimes I have dreams of my past but very rarely…I never really bothered with it, I was too focused in killing the Rathian so I kinda pushed it aside." Yoru said looking down. "People say I look like 19 years old but I think I may be younger." she said ashamed.

Hermes smiled, "We lost contact with your father 30 years ago and you do remind me of someone." he said looking at Yoru´s face.

"Of course I do, you knew my father." the huntress stated the obvious.

Gwen´s mouth fell, "Don´t tell me…she can´t!" she shook her head. "This is not fair!" she bragged.

Ian grabbed Gwen´s shoulder, "Stop it Gwen! We´re not sure yet!" he said shaking the woman back and forth.

"What are they talking about?" Yoru asked confused.

"They think they know your mother as well." Hermes answered shaking his head to the sides, "What a mess she caused for us." he said turning his back to the huntress. He went back to the bonfire and took of the remaining sticks of meat.

"This is NOT FAIR!" Gwen screamed. "That daughter of conga was ugly and fat!".

Ian covered Gwen´s mouth and fearfully turned his head to face the huntress, he had a forced grin on his face. "I-I can explain." he said.

The hunter almost jumped in fear when he saw that Yoru´s face was just an inch away, her gaze was fiercer than a Fatalis´s glare.

"So?" she asked in a somber tone.

Ian gulped but stood still. "Two weeks before our group disbanded we had our last theft. It was a big one with enough money to buy a house. There was a caravan passing through the jungle…" Hermes said.

**Notes**

**I have rewritten part of this chapter 3 times. I was debating on how to unfold the conversation without feeling too rushed or with unnecessary events.**

**Ian,Hermes and Gwen are about 50 years old when they meet Yoru for the first time. Their names are puns of something. Hermes was supposed to sound similar to "hermitaur". From my experience you have to get somewhat close to them for them to notice you since I was able to fight a Daimyo Hermitaur for a minute while another one was eating 4 rolls away.**

**It is fact that a traumatic event might cause memory loss, specifically the ones involving pain. Since Yoru miss so much her parents her brain forgot a good deal of her memories with her parents since they would cause her pain. Since she didn´t have contact with anyone else prior to Derek then that means almost everything was hidden deep in her brain. The only reason I didn´t write this before is because Yoru was obsessed with revenge, training and survival for months but I planned this from the beginning.**

**Fun fact: I fought my first Nargacuga a few weeks ago using a fire sns and won in the first try. I hadn´t seen a video about this monster for over a year and didn´t remember much of the strategy involved in killing it so it was like a "blind" fight. I tried to be patient and cut the tail for 10 minutes but after using 7 mega potions to heal myself I said "Screw this" and used a very offensive strategy not caring for the part I was hitting. Surprisingly enough it was actually easier and I finished the quest in 24 minutes in total.**


	29. Irony

**(30 years ago-Old Jungle)**

**(Flashback)**

A group of 15 men and women sneaked between the trees of the jungle. They were walking parallel to a natural road used by monsters and humans alike keeping a good distance in order to avoid being spotted by a random traveler. The leader of the group wore bulfango´s pelts over the shoulders and used a leather armor with a brown hood to act as camouflage. The others used different sets of armor, some were made of metal while others used leather or brown hide armors. A man using iron armor and an open helmet walked to the leader´s side and hid behind a tree.

"Are you sure about this? Ian said there was a dozen of guards." the robust man wearing iron armor said.

"Yes Hermes. If they have a dozen of guards then it means it is someone important or a lot of zen and gold." the chief answered.

"You´re the boss." Hermes said with a tired voice.

"You´re going to change your mind once we get some food from our "vendor"." the leader said.

"If they don´t kill us first." Hermes said going back to his position.

They continued onward for about three hours, nothing new happened nor any person passed by the road. Paul spotted Ian from his position and the man saw him as well. The leader gesture to for his friend to come closer and then waited for him to approach. Ian was wearing leather armor with a black cloak over his body.

"They´re not far but we have a problem." Ian said.

"What is it? More guards?" the leader asked.

"No…Paul, I have a bad feeling about this." the spy said.

Paul looked at his "friend" with piercing eyes. "You´re sure?" he asked after a while. Ian was usually right when he "had a bad feeling".

Ian didn´t even blink as he looked back. "Yes, I bet my life on this." Ian said.

"Paul!" a woman whispered from behind.

"What do you want Gwen?" Paul asked in a rather harsh tone.

"You promised it wouldn´t take long. My feet are killing me." the woman bragged as she took off her right boot and stretched her fingers. She wore leather armor and used a golden necklace with a machalite encased in a small frame around her neck. Silver earrings adorned her ears and each one contained a small diamond encased in silver that loosely hang down.

"We got a problem, Ian has a bad feeling." Paul turned to face his comrades.

The other thieves murmured in low voice but their voices combined was getting too loud for comfort.

"Silence your idiots! You´re going to give our position!" Paul said aloud and everyone shut their mouths.

"Let´s go, I hope they´re not gone by now." Paul said turning away.

**(Later)**

Paul´s gang was hiding behind trees and bushes at the sides of the road. The earth path was large enough for two wagons to cross side by side and so the guards would have enough time to react from both sides even with the surprise attack. They waited for their prey to fall into their trap but it was taking longer than expected.

"I think they went to another road." Hermes whispered by Paul´s side.

"There isn´t another "safe" path to the city. They will have to pass through here…They´re coming! Keep quiet!" the chief warned.

A wagon appeared on the horizon, it was made of wood painted with green to act as camouflage. It was conducted by a guard that sat on the front of the vehicle, he used a group of ropes to control a pair of armored aptonoths that acted as the vehicle´s moving force. Soon the other guards became visible, there were five on the left, five on the right and one on the back. Each one held long iron spears of about two meters and half, a longsword attached to their belts and all used heavy iron armor.

When the carriage entered the desired spot everyone jumped from the bushes and charged forward to attack the guards. Blades clashes and metal resonated as the bandits struggled with the guards. Paul grabbed the spear of a guard and threw him aside like a doll. The bandit´s chief grabbed the sword with both hands and made a full spin to intercept an attack from behind. The second guard tried to block but the sword´s heaviness surprised him and he was thrown to the ground without much resistance.

Ian used a pair of daggers to block an overhead swing from a guard´s sword and then kicked him in the belly to push him away. He made a sequence of fast swings without taking his eyes from the man´s face. The guard easily blocked all the attacks and then feigned a stab which prompted Ian to move to the right. The guard executed a left hook that connected with the bandit´s face. Ian stepped back as he shook his head, he wasn´t going to recover in time to parry the next attack.

The guard charged forward with the sword over his head but then his eyes widened, his muscles hardened and stiffed before he finally collapsed into the ground. He tried to move his body but the muscles of his hands, arms and legs only twitched a bit. Gwen stood over his body with an annoyed look in her eyes.

"Ian! Do you know how much I paid for the toxin? Try not to get stabbed, I don´t want any more dirt on my armor." Gwen bragged.

"I´m a spy, not a warrior, deal with it." Ian answered as he rubbed his check.

Gwen looked around, the rest of the guards were still occupied fighting the bandits but apparently two were taken down counting with the paralyzed one under her feet.

"I can´t believe I did everything for nothing, this is unfair." Gwen kicked the paralyzed guard.

Hermes laughed as he blocked an attack with his twin swords, he moved the left sword back, down and then pierced the guard´s chest. The bulky bandit looked at Ian with a grin plastered over his face. "That´s how you do it. No time lost kicking him away." he said gesturing to the dead guard.

Unknown to Hermes a guard approached from behind with his sword ready to strike. Gwen quickly grabbed a small flask from her belt and threw at the guard´s face. The object cracked in dozens of pieces releasing a purple smoke that occluded the man´s face. He coughed and stumbled back, noticeably affected by the poisonous mist around his face. Ian took the opportunity to throw one of his daggers at the guard, the weapon spun twice and then hit right on the man´s forehead. The guard fell to the ground with a thud and didn´t move afterwards.

Inside the wagon someone spied through the white veil that covered the back side. The person couldn´t believe how quickly the bandits managed to kill some of the guards, they were some of the best guards one could get on the entire continent yet 3 were already dead. A guard was launched towards the wall of the wagon, just below the veil. The man coughed blood and then slid down to the ground.

Paul took a deep breath as he lowered the sword. "_This sword is really a burden to carry…but it is worth it." _he thought looking upwards. The bandit saw the veil of the wagon moving a bit as if someone had quickly closed it. "A person?" he said confused.

"DAM IT! IT IS A PERSON!" Paul shouted to his comrades.

Everyone looked back at the bandit and for a split second stopped fighting each other. Two bandits were struck down after the guards took the opportunity to kill them while they were distracted. The other marauders regained their senses and returned to fight with even more vigor, there were angry shouts coming from all of them:

"FOR FATALIS **** SAKE!" one shouted.

"I thought there would be gold!" another screamed.

"I WASTED ALL MY ITEMS ON THIS?!" Gwen bragged.

"IAN YOU IDIOT! You should´ve checked before!" Hermes said to his comrade.

"How could´ve known?!" the spy protested.

Paul snarled, they couldn´t take a hostage, especially if this person could afford a wagon and a dozen of guards. If they kidnapped someone important then someone else would start searching for them and this would cause trouble because they hadn´t any influence with any kind of authority. It would also mean they would have to flee to the desert, something he hated to do since it would mean no more thefts or stealing for at least three months. They couldn´t kill the person either because the authorities might not know who did it but they would surely search and their bounty would sky rocket, resulting in death sentence if they were caught. They couldn´t leave the person alive too for obvious reasons.

Paul approached the wagon with his sword by his side. "I´m going to count up to three! You get out of there and order them to lower their weapons or I will cut you in half!" he threatened.

"Ok! Ok! You win!" a woman said from inside the vehicle.

"Get out!" Paul ordered.

The veil of the wagon was moved to the side and a young maiden appeared from inside, she jumped to the ground and gracefully recomposed herself. She wore a white shirt with a blue robe over it and used wooden sandals to protect her feet. She had a complex hairstyle: there were two smalls pack of hair at the sides of her face and the hair over her forehead was divided into the sides to not obstruct the vision. The rest of the hair reached her shoulders. Her eyes were a very dark shade of brown and her skin was impeccable without any signal of aging. The woman raised her arms to show that she wasn´t armed and looked at Paul with fearful eyes.

"I surrender! Guards! Throw away your weapons!" he commanded.

Paul remained a good deal of distance away from the mysterious woman, she could have a small weapon hidden underneath the robe ready to be used at any moment. The bandit leader heard the clanking of metal as the guards threw their swords to the ground but didn´t take the eyes off from the woman.

"Alright guys, kill them." Paul ordered.

The guards screamed as they were struck down by Paul´s men, none were left alive. The woman looked horrified at the scene.

"You said you would spare us!" she argued.

"I said I wouldn´t cut YOU down." Paul pointed to the woman as the rest of his friends approached them and formed a circle around their hostage.

"You trash! Little bastard daughter of a conga! You know how hard was to create those poisons?!" Gwen bragged. "I had to carve a Lodrome!"

Ian walked towards Paul´s side. "What do we do with her?" he asked.

"We…oh crap…" Paul said looking at the other side.

Everyone turned to face the opposite direction, there were shadows moving behind the trees of the forest. At first there were only a couple but then it increased to the point they were gathered with each other. A man wearing purple armor emerged from behind a nearby tree and walked with a smile on his face. The purple scales of the armor were put on top of each other creating a sharp pattern across all the body. The joints were protected by a green mail. A blue rope was tied around each of the gauntlets and one around the waist too. The helm had an opening in the front which allowed the person to clearly see without any restriction, two elongated purple "ears" were attached to the sides of the helm.

"Congratulations! You are truly skilled in combat!" the man commented while clapping his hands. Meanwhile Thirty nine men and women emerged from the sides of the road, they surrounded Paul´s gang but remained still. All of them wore armors and weapons of various types.

"The Garuga´s Roar." Paul said bitterly.

The "Garuga´s Roar" was a rather unusual group. They weren´t exactly bandits, mercenaries or assassins, they could be described as a neutral group. Sometimes they would kill a brave hunter which distinguished himself while others they would hunt down bandits that were terrorizing a village. When they were asked why they acted like this the leader answered with the following sentence:

"We like a good fight. Once we find someone worthy of our time we will "test" this person. We live to fight and we die fighting."

Paul´s gang retreated into a smaller circle and stood side by side with each other, their hostage in the middle. Paul grabbed a flask from Ian and quickly drank the water before discarding the flask. "Let me guess… you´re after me." he said.

"Yes but your friends aren´t that bad either. Maybe they can put a challenge against us." the purple armored man said.

"We´re screwed." Hermes said.

"Sorry if I can´t predict the future" Ian said sarcastically.

"You´re going to die too, no need to be sorry." Hermes replied. "But I wish I could eat something before my death." he added.

Ian smiled with closed eyes, he grabbed something from his pouch and offered it to his comrade, it was a piece of dried salty meat. Hermes looked at the piece of food then to at Ian and then back to the food. He grabbed the piece of meat and munched it.

"That will do it." Hermes said licking his lips.

"Any last words?" the leader of the Garuga´s Roar asked.

"Go to Hell Ian!" everyone said in unison.

"I said I had a bad feeling!" the bandit argued.

Paul gripped his sword with both hands. "I´m not going to die here." he said.

"We will see. I guess there are 13 counting with you while we are 40. It is a 3x1 battle. You know, I didn´t expect to lose 20 men just with some traps, who prepared them?" the leader of the "garugas" asked.

Gwen scoffed, "I guess it wasn´t a waste of time after all." she said with a smile.

"Oh? They were very tricky, especially the ones with poison. Enough talking already, let´s see how you fare against us." the purple armored man said. He snapped his fingers and his men organized themselves in three waves. With another snap of fingers they charged towards Paul´s gang.

The sound of metal echoed throughout the forest as the two forces collided with each other. Paul´s gang blocked the first wave of attacks with their weapons and shields and then pushed them back. The "garugas" went for a stab but their attacks were parried and did no contact with their targets. Paul took a step forward and did an horizontal sweep that threw away the men in his way, they collapsed into their comrades and fell to the ground. The brief moment of relief ended when the second wave of "garugas" stood up faster than a Plesioth and attacked Paul which blocked the blow of three swords with his blade.

"That´s all you got?! Huh?" Paul said looking at his enemies´ faces.

They had no anger in their eyes nor any kind of worry. They seemed…bored, like they didn´t want to be there. They glanced at each other but said nothing,

"What? You think I´m not good enough?!" Paul asked.

"We´re going to kill you first." the left one said.

For some reason the other "garugas" were focusing their attacks on the other bandits, even though Paul was completely vulnerable. Every time someone tried to help Paul a "garuga" would intercept and the combat restarted.

Paul pushed the sword forward and then made a vertical chop to cut the middle "garuga" but the trio blocked the attack and with their strength combined managed to hold on their ground.

One of the "garugas" slid his sword to the right and tried to stab Paul in the chest but the chief bandit held the sword with the right hand and grabbed a dagger from his belt with his free hand. He blocked the attack just in time and now was struggling to keep the pressure on the two blades.

"Did you really think…I would fall for this trick?" he smirked despite the fact he was losing ground in the sword struggle.

"No, we didn´t." the "garuga" that was trying to stab him said grabbing another sword from his belt. He was about to stab the defenseless bandit when a dagger parried the attack and another one found its way towards the man´s chest.

"Need a little hand?" Ian asked as he dodged to the side to avoid a spear trust.

"No. I have everything on my hands." Paul answered putting the dagger on the belt.

Meanwhile Gwen changed places with her comrades several times until she reached Paul´s right side. She grabbed a small needle flask from her belt and looked down at the pouch on her belt searching for something else.

"HAMMER!" Paul warned.

Gwen looked upwards, a "garuga" was about to strike her with a giant iron hammer. She raised her metal shield to block the incoming attack but was thrown back by the force of the impact. Fortunately Hermes covered her spot, filling the space in the barrier before someone could enter.

The hostage looked down at the bandit at her feet and crouched to see if she was still alive. Gwen´s eyes were closed but it looked like she was still breathing.

"Wake up, wake up!" the woman said shaking the bandit´s head.

"Power Juice…Paul…" Gwen mumbled.

The woman frowned, she looked at the bandit´s hand and saw a flask containing a yellow liquid. She looked at the bandits battling in front of her, Hermes was launched towards her by the same "garuga" that hit Gwen. The bandits retreated a little bit in order to keep the circle formation.

Hermes rubbed his chest, the hammer had hit him directly on his belly, cracking the armor. He felt a rushing sensation inside his body that went up to his throat and then to his mouth. The bandit turned to the side and then vomited on the ground.

"EEEEWW!" the woman covered her mouth in disgust.

"Shouldn´t eat that…meat." Hermes coughed more vomit.

The bulky bandit tried to stand up but then another surge came and he vomited on Gwen´s face. He kept looking at her face for three seconds until he realized the problem he got into.

"Oh gods! Sorry Gwen!" he apologized but then noticed she was still asleep. The bandit then looked to the side and noticed their hostage standing there, looking at him in disgust.

"Clean this mess! It is disgusting!" she said throwing a piece of fabric at Hermes.

Hermes caught the white fabric and then cleaned his face, it was no use cleaning Gwen´s face, it wouldn´t be completely cleaned and she had a very good nose since she was an alchemist. Besides, they didn´t have time for that.

"Here, take it." the bandit said throwing the fabric at the stranger with little regard.

The woman dodged to the side as the dirty handkerchief flew by her shoulder. "Are you crazy?! I won´t touch that thing!" she protested but the man was already standing up.

"If you excuse me." Hermes said walking forward despite holding his side with his right hand.

"Wait!" the woman called.

Hermes turned and looked at the woman, "What?" he asked.

The woman looked at the area around her, then to Gwen and back to the bandits fighting the "garugas", especially at Paul which was dealing with three enemies at the same time. She was clearly thinking about something.

"Yeah if they win you are safe. They don´t care about weak or influential people." Hermes stated.

The woman grabbed the flask from Gwen´s hand, Hermes noticed it and wondered if it was some kind of poison so he raised his sword, the gesture indicating a silent warning. The woman grabbed the object with both hands and held it close to her chest.

"Why do you steal?" she asked with a serious tone.

"You´re asking this now?!" Hermes said in disbelief.

Meanwhile Paul took two steps back to avoid a hammer strike but then charged forward with his longsword on top of his head and struck down the hammer wielder.

"Tell me!" the woman insisted.

Hermes put his hand over his face, "I don´t have time for this." said angry but then held his stomach. "Ouch! What you gonna do? Break the flask and release a poison mist to kill us all?" Hermes asked.

The woman gulped down, "Yes." the woman lied.

Hermes rubbed his head, he looked back at the fight. He needed to get back or the whole line would fall from the fierce attacks of the "garugas". He knew that Gwen was capable of filling such large poison mist inside a normal sized flask so it was possible that the woman wasn´t bluffing. He was too far to grab her hand before she breaks the flask and his injuries would handicap him should he try to stop her.

"Either way we´re dead. You really want to know?" he asked and the woman nodded. "Fine! Why would I work in a farm? A monster is going to ravage it sooner or later, it isn´t profitable. Blacksmith? Why would I do equipment for others, working in a hot place for several hours a day just for the guy to come back asking to repair the armor I spent several days making? Cooking? I rather eat the food myself." Hermes counted his fingers as he said each profession.

"You could be a hunter." the woman suggested.

"A monster hunter? This is the worst job ever! I don´t like being a tool for a petty princess to use wherever she wants to get a horn or hide. BESIDES! Working to solve others´ problems?! Nobody cares about my problems! They even have to pay a FEE to get the job and do someone´s else bidding! Like! Really?! I have to pay to risk my life? I should get an advance just for trying!" Hermes said shaking his head. "Being a thief is easier, more profitable. I work wherever I want, when I want and do what I WANT. We sell to whoever we like, we´re not binded to an specific man or woman."

"You have a boss." the woman pointed out.

"Paul isn´t just my boss, he´s a friend just like everyone in the group. I work for him because I like him not because I´m obliged to do so. I could leave the gang if I wanted and they wouldn´t stop me." Hermes stated turning his back to the woman.

"I see…I think Paul needs this potion." the woman said.

Hermes immediately turned to face the woman, she was extending her arm forward with the flask in her hand. The recipient contained not a purple liquid or mist, as should be expected from a poison or toxin, but a faint yellow one.

"A power juice…" Hermes muttered.

The bandit made quick steps towards the woman while she stood up and cleaned her clothes with her free hand. Hermes stared deep into her eyes searching for some signal that she was lying but there was none. Then he looked at her hands, something seemed off but he couldn´t tell. The bandit grabbed the flask and limped to Paul´s direction.

Paul dodged an overhead chop from a greatsword user and then pierced his chest with the sword.

"Paul! Power Juice!" Hermes called from behind.

"Ian!" the bandit leader called his friend.

Ian stepped in front of Ian and blocked the incoming attack of a twin sword user. The blades seemed to move in a fast paced dance where each weapon found each other in less than a second in the small space between the fighters. Ian´s daggers were smaller but in the cramped space it actually gave him an edge against his opponent since he could move them faster. Despite this the marauder did not advance or attacked the enemy with the intention to kill. He knew that if he pressed forward he would break the formation and if the twin sword user was killed another "garuga" would fill the gape and if it was a heavy weapon user it would mean his death.

Hermes opened the flask and handed it to Paul. The marauder drank the yellow liquid all at once, taking care to not a single drop fall off from his mouth. He threw the flask away and held the longsword with both hands. The adrenaline in his veins was flowing vigorously now and the pain had subsided a little. The boost normally would last many minutes or hours depending of what the person was doing but he doubted that it would last more than 15 minutes with him slashing away with the thin but heavy sword. He needed to be quick, very quick.

"Okay guys! Don´t get in my way!" Paul warned as he marched towards the enemy.

**(A very short but brutal slaughter later)**

Paul released the sword and sat on the ground exhausted. The boost had expired just as he fought the last "garugas" including their leader. The "garugas" bodies were evenly spread across the ground. Meanwhile the others counted the bodies and searched for anything useful to take with them.

Ian approached Paul from behind and then sighed. "40 garugas and none of us were killed, what a miracle." he commented.

"What a disaster! Now the Human Hunters have a very good reason to hunt us down." Paul retorted.

"Oh gods I forgot about them! Since they normally only go after bandits that steal I forget that they also track down assassins!" Ian panicked.

"And we killed the "Garugas´s Roar". Now they will see us as kidnappers of a rich family that managed to kill one of the strongest rogue fighters of the region. Do you see how bad they will want us dead?" Paul asked.

"At least we got some supplies." Hermes commented with a load of packs on his hands.

"WHO VOMITED ON ME?!" Gwen shouted from behind Hermes. The mixture of food and liquid had almost dried up and was emitting a deadly stench around her body prompting others to stay away.

Hermes cringed, "Excuse me as I swiftly make my escape." he said walking on his toes towards the trees.

Ian made a huge effort to not laugh at Gwen´s situation and Paul covered his face in nuisance.

Someone offered a white handkerchief to the angry bandit, "Oh! Thank you." she said without looking at who offered the handkerchief and started to clean her face.

Ian helped Paul to stand up and both were about to make their way towards the others when they saw their "hostage" checking the corpses on the ground to see if any of the "garugas" was still alive.

"Wha…what? What are you guys doing?! Don´t let her go away!" Paul ordered pointing to their hostage.

Two bandits stepped forward to grab the woman but hesitated when the woman continued to look at one corpse.

"Thank you." the woman said.

"Uh?" Paul and the others approached, forming a circle around the woman to stop her from running away.

"What the crap you two are doing?! Get her now!" Paul ordered again, his men grabbed the woman by the arms and held them behind her back but she still didn´t offer any resistance which left everyone confused.

"Why didn´t you try to escape? You could´ve easily slipped away when we broke formation. " Ian asked.

"That´s a good question." Paul agreed.

"First: I would probably be killed by some monster. Second:I saw what you did and you would consider hunting me down in order to not spread your feats. Third: You killed these monsters that were bothering the whole region, I wanted to thank you for this." she said.

Paul approached and faced the woman with a cold stare that seemed to pierce her soul. "You don´t look scared for a hostage. What are you hiding?" he asked.

"Nothing. What? Did you expect me to breath fire like a wyvern? Pull a hidden weapon from my robes? Attack you with some ancient martial arts?" she asked chuckling.

"Yeah." the bandits said in unison.

"Hahaha…you are paranoid." the woman looked to the right.

Everyone looked surprised when they saw the woman´s left ear as the hair was moved out of the way.

"Wyverians are stronger than humans but the difference isn´t that great." the woman said in a carefree tone. "Besides, I don´t like violence. That´s why I´m grateful you killed these murderers." the wyverian lady commented looking back at Paul.

**Notes:**

**Ok, I answered some questions with this chapter but the rest will come in the next one. I know that people will think a lot of things regarding the characters, especially regarding the "wyverian lady" but believe me, it will make sense later.**

**The reason why I didn´t write what the wyverian was thinking for most of the part is because it is a story told by Ian, Gwen and Hermes. They are telling what they saw and what they heard which means that personal thoughts are kept to the wyverian unless she speaks about them.**

**There are quests on the game where the description says that the reason we are doing this is because a selfish person wants something. In the first game we had to capture a Rathalos just because a girl wanted it as a pet. In Freedom Unite there is a quest where some rich princess are arguing about what monster part is more beautiful and send us into a quest to slay a Monoblos and other monster to get the items. I had to slay to Hypnocatrice just because a stupid kid wanted a feather. **


End file.
